Current events have highlighted the critical role of the hospital laboratory as the primary source of diagnostic information. And with legislation such as PAMA (Protecting Access to Medicare Act) reducing reimbursement, hospital laboratories must determine the best direction in defining the role of the laboratory and its value to the hospital or health system.
Unfortunately, the laboratory’s critical role in determining diagnoses and treatments also makes it vulnerable to abuse. Studies estimate that from 10% to 25% of all hospital-performed laboratory tests in the inpatient setting are not indicated. Additionally, an increasingly complex, ever-expanding set of diagnostic test options necessitates heightened awareness in order to choose the right laboratory test at the right time.
Laboratory stewardship responds to these problems by establishing a true collaboration and partnership between the organization’s clinical leadership and the laboratory, to the benefit of both.
This white paper – the third in a three-part series developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic Laboratories and Change Healthcare – provides frontline perspective and commentary from experts and physicians on the application and value of decision support in the laboratory. It also includes early-adopter proof points from hospital laboratories that have successfully implemented third-party decision support to achieve their stewardship goals, including EHR interventions and ongoing monitoring of utilization.
This series aims to help clinical laboratory professionals like you understand the risks and requirements, as well as the clinical and financial benefits, of implementing a clinical decision support (CDS) system.
Find these, and many more business-critical insights in this White Paper:
- Learn to define your lab’s specific stewardship goals and measure progress toward them using robust analytics tools, in order to compare provider behavior against evidence-based guidelines and equip your lab with the means to take control of test utilization
- Understand clinically-grounded guidelines that you can apply in your lab to help address the now-prevalent problem of too much data and information for providers to consume, the result to the benefit of both patients and providers
- Hear how one midwestern hospital identified that B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) was frequently over-ordered on their wards, and the steps they took that led to a decline of 33%-43% in inappropriate BNP orders
- Find out why looking at data at the facility level, then at the department level, then at the provider level is of greatest benefit to your lab, and much more
White Paper Table of Contents
Chapter 1:
Taking Control of Test Utilization to Curb Clinical Laboratory Waste
Chapter 2:
Reducing Variation in Laboratory Testing and Care Delivery
Chapter 3:
Data from Lab Test Stewardship Using Third-Party Clinical Decision Support in the Hospital Laboratory
Case Study 1
Case Study 2
Case Study 3
CONCLUSION
A laboratory test stewardship program requires organizational attention, physician champions, meaningful data, and dedicated IT resources to enact changes—with decision support vital to driving a strategic stewardship initiative.
Moreover, as you, as a thought leader pursue the creation of a value-based laboratory, instead of a commoditized service, you will soon identify overutilization and inappropriate lab testing as areas to target for process improvement and cost savings, thus boosting your lab’s value and reinventing your role in your lab’s organization.
Learn what you need to know about these value-enhancing strategies by downloading your FREE copy of “Case Studies in Clinical Laboratory Test Stewardship” below.
View Part 1 of the series here
View Part 2 of the series here
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