In order to increase the efficiency of lab testing, a lot of hospitals have decided to make a central laboratory facility that will serve as the core facility in which samples are to be examined rather than being sent out to various lab facilities. Medical professionals often term this as Consolidated Lab Testing. This practice is now being implemented to reduce cost expenditures and effort.
Consolidated Lab Testing is designed to hold a wide variety of tests such as the normal routinary hematology tests down to more complex ones like toxicology and molecular genetic tests. This kind of approach does not only benefit the service providers but also the patients as well because the results can now be received within a few hours instead of waiting for a few days. This can only mean that the necessary treatments to be done can be started immediately.
This new approach is also very beneficial for health systems having a lot of hospitals under it. Expansion of medical facilities in one health system is now less of a big deal.
Before getting started with the process, hospitals need to evaluate their need for centralized lab testing. It is also necessary to gather information about how many test providers are existing in the hospital and if there is a need for expansion or just maintain the regular amount of tests offered. Once that is settled down, the next thing to plan for is the staffing and resources. It might be necessary to add more staff members and lab specialists upon expansion. The last thing to look at is the space where you will build your new centralized lab facility. Regardless of whether the facility is within the hospital limits or not, the important things to consider are the relative ease of setting up materials and equipment, storing test samples, and of course the space to process it.
The health care executives should also consider the lab working hours of operation along with appropriate staffing levels. The lab is restricted in terms of number of personnel and the availability of resources and equipment because that limits the number of test procedures to be performed.
The lab should have a comprehensive workflow that considers all aspects of testing, from receiving and tracking samples to removing biological waste.
When operating a laboratory, hospitals and health systems must strictly follow some rules and regulations from various health government agencies.
Protocols should be established to keep staff and samples uncontaminated for the reason that the lab contains a lot of harmful biohazards and toxic chemicals.
Lab results should be handled by a limited number of people that are highly authorized.
There are wide selections of homepage where you can study and gather more information about how to create a consolidated lab testing area.