Multiple pre- and post-analytical lean approaches to the improvement of the laboratory turnaround time in a large core laboratory.

Background: Core laboratory (CL), as a new business model, facilitates consolidation and integration of laboratory services to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. This study evaluates the impact of total laboratory automation system (TLA), electric track vehicle (ETV) system and auto-verification (AV) of results on overall turnaround time (TAT) (phlebotomy to reporting TAT: PR-TAT) within a CL setting.

Methods: Mean, median and percentage of outlier (OP) for PR-TAT were compared for pre- and post-CL eras using five representative tests based on different request priorities.

Evaluation of the impact of a total automation system in a large core laboratory on turnaround time.

Background: Growing financial and workload pressures on laboratories coupled with user demands for faster turnaround time (TAT) has steered the implementation of total laboratory automation (TLA). The current study evaluates the impact of a complex TLA on core laboratory efficiency through the analysis of the In-lab to Report TAT (IR-TAT) for five representative tests based on the different requested priorities.

Methods: Mean, median and outlier percentages (OP) for IR-TAT were determined following TLA implementation and where possible, compared to the pre-TLA era.