Dhanapala
D M R D (Bsc, PGDE, DMLT)
Using Quality Management to Deliver Added-Value Lab Testing
Services
These are clinical laboratory and pathology organizations that
have achieved a market-leading position in the communities that they serve
because of their “close to the customer” mindset.
This clinical laboratory describes itself as the ‘Lexus of
medical laboratories. It rigorously surveys the satisfaction of its patients
and physicians and uses lots of quality management methods and tools to
continuously add more value.
Henry Ford Production System Used by Department of Pathology
The process of engaging physicians and patients to learn about
how the laboratory could better meet their expectations was a key step in
guiding the performance improvement efforts of the department. The main approach
to reduce lab errors was to create a process that would capture defects each
day. Other than that cross-functional teams look to identify the sources of
defects and rapidly institute fixes to the system. Examples of errors can be
wrong patient identification and ‘not enough specimen’ (QNS) for lab testing.
The next interesting element in this quality management story is
how staff as a team engaged the laboratory testing sites and other hospitals
and clinics. Many Health Systems adopt and use Lean and similar methods. The
benefits here are increased standardization of testing activities in ways that
support added value to physicians throughout the health system
ISO 15189 At chemical Pathology Laboratory
Most chemical pathologists suggest and adopt the ISO
15189 QMS, to
their laboratories, because it was recognized that QMS would provide the entire
laboratory staff with a framework to improve the quality of the laboratory’s
testing services in ways that would make a difference for physicians, patients,
payers, and even the lab staff.
The short overview of this letter presentation shared and
demonstrates why ever-growing numbers of clinical laboratories and pathology
groups are choosing to implement a quality management philosophy and operating
culture within their organization. During this phase it emphasized that quality
management is now the essential cornerstone that allows them to achieve
competitive advantage and deliver more value to referring physicians and their
patients.
The researches observed that
the experience of most successful laboratory organizations provides a useful
insight into their ongoing evolution of the laboratory testing profession. So
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will want to stay abreast of the
pace of adoption of this quality management philosophy and its associated
management techniques.
