Seven Tips to Improve Workflow and Productivity in the Medical Lab

Working in a lab requires you to stay focused and attentive to the test that you are completing.  It requires you to analyze and concentrate on data and numbers from the tests.  To ensure success in a lab specializing in dermatopathology in Pittsburgh, PA, you need an organized and productive space to do work.  These are a few tips to improve your workflow in your medical lab.

Create a Safe Environment

To keep your lab safe, make an organized workplace that is devoid of clutter and distracting elements. This allows your employees to remain visually focused on the task at hand.  Enhance your lab area by allowing enough natural light in, which will boost energy and motivation. These easy strategies help improve emotions and foster a fluid work environment that motivates individuals to come to work.

Automate Processes

Integrating automated instruments and information systems to handle the ordering, data entry, and all clerical work and accessioning, as well as pre-and post-analytical testing operations, can allow laboratories to focus on more higher-value jobs while addressing economic challenges.

Remove Communication Barriers

Establishing effective communication channels across all departments associated with the pathology laboratory is critical to delivering the high degree of patient care coordination required by today's competitive and reimbursement regulations.  For you to preserve a competitive advantage and maximum efficiency, all sectors must be inclusive. Taking initiatives to improve clinical laboratory workflow is a step in the right direction. Consider assessing methods for converting the lab from a cost center to a revenue center for return on investment.

Provide Great Lighting

Adequate lighting not only ensures good vision during vital scientific exams but also improves mood. Happier employees are more likely to enjoy and perform well at their jobs. Proper lighting, such as overhead lighting, under-the-shelf lighting, and tiny table lighting, can help the pathology lab personnel do activities that are difficult to see.

Have Comfortable Furniture

Lab technicians spend plenty of time standing up and sitting in chairs. Make sure to provide them with comfy furnishings, such as ergonomic chairs on wheels. This will offer them a measure of comfort and ensure that their back is supported. It also allows them to move freely between tasks, promoting an efficient workflow and a productive atmosphere.

Consider New Technology

Employees can only perform their duties efficiently if they are provided with the necessary resources and tools. Developing innovations, such as blood micro sampling technologies, must be understood and appropriately considered because they have the potential to increase clinical laboratory productivity. Speak with professionals in the area to understand what new technologies may mean for both you and how they might help your lab prepare for a much more streamlined and efficient future.

Consider Location

The location of any medical lab is critical to its optimization. Core labs within hospitals have the advantage of being close to patients and pathologists, but they are an expensive solution. Rapid response laboratories in acute care hospitals enable speedy turnaround for crucial testing, but you must consider the premium space they may occupy.

These are a few of the ways that you can improve the workflow of your pathology lab.  When you are working in medical testing, you need to be able to concentrate on the task at hand and you also want to develop a passion for what you do.  Contact us to hear more about our lab service specializing in dermatopathology in Pittsburgh, PA today.