TAG:
process improvement
IOM Endorses Continuous Improvement, Lean
By R. Lewis Dark | From the Volume XIX No. – October 8, 2012 Issue
IT IS ONE OF THE IRONIES OF HEALTHCARE that it has taken the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) more than three decades to fully recognize the necessary and essential role that continuous improvement and the associated disciplines of Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement must…
Narrower Provider Networks Topic during Quest Conference Call
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIX No. 12 – August 27, 2012 Issue
SINCE MAY 1, 2012, the nation’s largest clinical laboratory company has had a new CEO, who is Stephen H. Rusckowski. The company’s second quarter conference call provided an opportunity to learn more about how he views Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. Conducted on July 19, the fi…
Sarasota Hospital Lab Reduces Number of Hemolyzed Specimens
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XIX No. 7 – May 14, 2012 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Seeking to improve turnaround time for stat lab tests, the laboratory at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System identified high rates of hemolysis as the chief reason for less than ideal TAT. Because 32% of blood draws were handled by the lab’s phlebotomy staff while 68% of b…
Top 10 IT Trends Send Message For Labs & Pathology Groups
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIX No. 6 – April 23, 2012 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Healthcare’s shift away from fee-for-service medicine and toward integrated clinical care is widely recognized. However, few lab administrators and pathologists are aware of the even faster transformation underway in healthcare informatics. Presented here are the “Top 10 …
Ohio Lab Offers Lessons Learned from CAP 15189
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XIX No. 5 – April 2, 2012 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: For a lab looking to continually improve lab operations, becoming accredited to either ISO 15189 or CAP 15189 is an ideal challenge. After hearing from other lab directors about the benefits of becoming accredited to CAP 15189, the staff at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohi…
QMS Helps Ontario Labs Cut Errors, Improve TAT
By Joseph Burns | From the Volume XIX No. 4 – March 12, 2012 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: In Brampton and Etobicoke, Ontario, the hospital laboratories of William Osler Health System are using the quality management system of ISO 15189 to stay ahead of two powerful trends. Combining the QMS with Lean methods allows the labs’ management and staff to continuously …
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp Report Q-4, Full Year Earnings
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIX No. 4 – March 12, 2012 Issue
IN RECENT WEEKS, each of the nation’s two largest public laboratory companies reported earnings for fourth quarter 2011 and full year 2011. Organic growth at both lab companies continues at low single-digit rates. This continues the pattern of relatively modest growth that has been posted by each …
Allina Opens State-of-the-Art Central Laboratory Facility
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XVIII No. 17 – December 19, 2011 Issue
THIS MONTH, THE NATION’S NEWEST “designed from scratch” clinical laboratory facility began operating in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the central laboratory of Allina Hospitals & Clinics and its design is rooted in Lean and similar process improvement and workflow principle…
TriCore Earns Multi-Site CAP 15189 Accreditation
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XVIII No. 13 – September 26, 2011 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: To achieve the goals of continuous improvement and standardization across all facilities within its organization, TriCore Reference Laboratories opted to implement the CAP 15189 quality management system (QMS). Last month, the lab announced its accreditation to CAP 1…
Raising the Bar with Better Phlebotomy Service
By R. Lewis Dark | From the Volume XVIII No. 7 – May 23, 2011 Issue
STEP BY STEP, INNOVATIVE CLINICAL LABORATORIES AND PATHOLOGY GROUPS across the country are deliberately raising the level of service they provide to patients and physicians. In the short term, this often delivers competitive advantage—at least until competing laboratories improve their own service …
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