Routine outpatient laboratory test turnaround times and practice patterns: a College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study.

Objectives: To determine baseline parameters for routine outpatient test turnaround time (TAT), to identify influential factors, and to study the impact of managed care on this testing.

Method: Using forms supplied by the College of American Pathologists Q-Probes program, laboratories conducted a self-directed study of routine outpatient TATs over a 4-week period. Data requested included various times of day associated with the collection, laboratory receipt, and result verification of specimens, as well as details on the drawing location and ordering and delivery methods for up to 3 tests, namely, a complete blood cell count (CBC), biochemical profile, or thyrotropin test. For the CBC, an indication was requested if a manual differential was performed. Additionally, practice-related questions were asked, including several about whether the laboratory was associated with a managed care organization (MCO). The main outcome measures included the components of the TAT process and related factors.Participants.-Six hundred nineteen laboratories from those enrolled in the 1997 College of American Pathologists Q-Probes program.

Results: Data were submitted by 614 participants, most US hospitals, and represented 30 240 CBCs, 25 683 biochemical profiles, and 14 801 thyrotropins. Collection to verification TATs increased for specimens received later in the day for all analytes, but the magnitude of the increase was greatest for thyrotropin. Collection to laboratory receipt TAT was similar for all analytes, but the time and distribution increased with time of day. Testing time (receipt to verification) was similar for the CBC and biochemical profile, but was greatly increased for thyrotropin. Most participants tested the CBC and the biochemical profile as they arrived, but many delayed testing for thyrotropin. Most (70%) outpatient specimens were collected within the institution; only about 10% came from local physicians' offices. A median 46.7% of hospital testing involved outpatients. Only 10% of laboratories operated under an MCO; these laboratories reported a median of 45% of specimens coming from their MCO. Being associated with an MCO increased TAT for the CBC and biochemical profile.

Conclusions: Outpatient testing comprises about half of all hospital testing, yet systems are not optimized. Preanalytic TAT increases during the day, which indicates increasing delays in the collection and transport stages. Imposition of a test schedule on thyrotropin results in a delay pattern that is very different from the CBC and biochemical profile, which are tested on arrival. A laboratory's association with an MCO had a weak impact on TAT.