During the pandemic, lab professionals have found themselves collaborating with other healthcare stakeholders to overcome challenges. All areas of healthcare have experienced supply shortages, and lab is no exception. When asked how their lab department was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, over half of survey respondents (55 percent) said they have reorganized and evaluated supply usage and storage.
Brown describes how her team worked with the sterile processing department for their health system on a strategy to address supply shortages during the pandemic.
“When testing became widely available, we realized quickly that supplies for testing were strained. We were unable, like so many, to obtain viral media and nasopharyngeal swabs for testing. Our brilliant team of physicians, pathologists and technologists put their minds together and were able to produce our very own viral transport media and 3D print collection swabs. Our sterile processing department came up with a process for the safe sterilization and packaging of the swabs. This carried us through the peak of testing demands from late April through the summer months in Nebraska. We still have these supplies on hand, ready to use at any time when commercial materials again become strained,” Brown said.
Tate explains that some staff in the lab may have been reassigned to new tasks as testing needs changed. “During the height of the pandemic, many hospitals decreased or ceased performing elective operating room (OR) procedures,” said Tate.“This led to staff being re-assigned to perform tasks that they were not accustomed to, such as transporting supplies and samples back and forth to COVID testing stations.”
Brown and her team have also found themselves shifting staff resources to meet changing needs during the pandemic. Early on, before COVID-19 testing was available in their lab and normal volumes of cultures and other testing decreased dramatically, they redeployed several staff members in microbiology to the collection of samples. In the late spring 2020, when testing became available, they not only continued to use multiple staff members for collections, but also had one or two technologists dedicated to running tests during their entire shifts.
Brown is not alone. Among those surveyed, 33 percent said they have had to reassign lab employees to other areas to address COVID-19 testing demands. Brown describes how her team has addressed knowledge gaps among staff members assigned to new roles.
“Prior to the pandemic, there was always a focus on having enough generalist technologists on staff, so we could shuffle where we needed to when workflow changed,” said Brown. “Now, we realize more than ever that we need not only generalists, but the specialties, such as microbiologists, are just as in demand. We had to get creative and cross train support laboratory staff members to function in roles they never had been asked to serve before. Those staff rose to the challenge, and we are very proud of what we accomplished and continue to provide for our patients.”
There was a noticeable decrease in number of labs performing outreach to other organizations in an effort to build test volumes, compared with last year, as 39 percent said their labs have performed minimal or no outreach efforts at their organizations, compared with 29 percent in 2020. Those performing outreach varied by type of organization:
- Physician’s practices: 51 percent
- Nursing homes: 37 percent
- Community members: 32 percent
- Home care: 18 percent
- Other laboratories: 17 percent
A heightened focus on process efficiency drives adoption of new technologies
When asked how their lab department was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one-third (33 percent) of survey respondents said they updated their processing policies, and 29 percent reviewed test and utilization costs, as well as reimbursem*nt levels.
An increasing number of lab professionals report that their organizations have automated or further automated new procedures – 51 percent, up from 42 percent last year.
“The capabilities of the various lab information systems that exist today have come a long way in assisting clinical laboratory management in keeping a finger on the pulse of operations,” said Radford.“With the improvements that have been seen, we have more information that can help make better decisions; this information is at our fingertips.”
“However, this is not something that will just come because you have it,” she added. “It takes time and experience to comfortably utilize the myriad of data at our access and not be overwhelmed by ‘analysis paralysis.’ The details are what drives our day-to-day work in the clinical laboratory, so it’s easy to get lost in the minutia of the information. It is important to keep the overarching purpose of the data review top of mind to remain focused, and let the information work for your operation’s benefit.”
Tate sees clinical labs increasing their use of data analytics to improve upon operational and financial challenges, as well as using the information to support value-based care.
“This is especially evident in antibiotic stewardship,” said Tate. “Through electronic reporting and data sharing, labs are readily able to gather information about their own entity, or even other entities, throughout the nation.By collaborating with pharmacy, infectious disease physicians and other key stakeholders, they can help identify any trends that may cause an increase in the incidence of multi-drug resistant organisms.Keeping our patients safe is of the utmost importance.By decreasing the incidence of these multi-drug resistant organisms, we also decrease pharmacy costs and decrease patient length of stay.”
On the topic of molecular diagnostics adoption, more than 80 percent said they have embraced it in microbiology, up from 73 percent in 2020. Other top areas for molecular diagnostics include chemistry (14 percent), hematology (6 percent) and blood bank (3 percent).
“One major trend that is actually making our profession more ‘fun’ is the introduction of more molecular testing in a sample-to-answer format,” said Radford.“We’re seeing more and more small and mid-sized analyzers that give the capability to perform molecular testing without the need for extraction material, clean rooms, and all of the other aspects of a molecular lab.This has increased the ability for smaller clinical labs to provide the great technology to the patients of their community without necessarily increasing the cost – and, in some instances, decreasing the cost.One of the best ways to demonstrate the impact that this technology has had is the fact that many microbiology labs are more automated now than they ever were in the not-so-distant past.”
Looking toward the future
The lab professionals we interviewed for this article agree that there is a bright future for the clinical lab profession, with strong job security and an increased recognition for the role labs play in the supply chain of patient care.
“Since the average age of Med Tech is increasing, and many are retiring, there are jobs available, and I think a good tech in the right lab can count on a secure future,” said Marallo.
The COVID-19 pandemic, with its pressing need for rapid and accurate testing results, has shined a spotlight on the work of clinical lab professionals.
“There has been a drastic change in how clinical labs are portrayed,” said Tate.“Lab testing has historically been more of a behind-the-scenes role that is now being brought into the spotlight.People are more aware of some of the different types of testing that take place in a clinical lab.They have also become more aware of the constraints that cause delays in testing.”
“The pandemic has brought to light that there are more professionals in healthcare than doctors and nurses,” said Brown. “For the first time in my 18-year career, I feel the world actually knows that the medical laboratory science profession exists. We have always been here, behind the scenes, working to serve our patients. I am hopeful that this recognition of our work will increase the interest in our profession and help us for years to come as we face severe staffing shortages.”
But more work is needed to address industry challenges, including competition from other areas of healthcare, most notably nursing, that can divert young professionals away from lab careers with promises of greater compensation and growth opportunities.
One way for clinical lab to raise its profile in the healthcare field, better promote its contributions to patient care and advance both individual lab professionals and the profession as a whole is through greater collaboration throughout the care continuum.
As Radford explains, this requires lab leaders to be positive and proactive champions for their teams. “I know of many more laboratory professionals who are making a difference outside of the four walls of the lab,” said Radford. “However, in order for this to happen and for the value of the contributions from the lab to be realized, the department leader has a responsibility to ‘manage up’ what his/her team has to offer. Participation on multi-disciplinary committees is one key way for the lab to make a name for itself. Often, the department leader(s) represent the laboratory on these committees. A recommendation that I would have is for the leaders to tap into the resources within the ranks of the department, giving others an opportunity to participate as well. This is actually a win-win for everyone involved.The leader has an opportunity to decrease the many meetings on their schedule, and the staff members have an opportunity to grow.”
