June 17, 2025
As hospitals and health systems face rising costs and declining reimbursements, many healthcare leaders are evaluating whether or not to sell their laboratory outpatient testing to a large reference lab. While a sale can provide short-term financial relief, investing in and growing a lab outreach business can generate significant long-term gains while driving provider and patient satisfaction. Read on for a few of the many direct benefits of a healthy clinical lab outreach program.
Maximize Physician Inreach to Grow Revenue
When health system labs think about outreach growth, often the first thing that comes to mind is capturing testing from non-affiliated providers and becoming a pseudo-reference lab. However, it is estimated that close to 50% of health system employed physician offices refer their lab work to an outside laboratory.
This alone represents almost $3 billion in lost revenue to health system laboratories per year, according to hc1 data on file. Therefore, focusing just on testing from affiliated providers, or inreach, can provide significant financial benefit to a health system outreach program.
Maintain Control Over Quality and Service
When a health system sells its outpatient testing to a large reference lab, they lose control over testing quality, service levels, and a touchpoint with local providers and care teams. This can potentially result in increased turnaround times and increased patient length of stay, leading to provider dissatisfaction and increased burden on patients.
By retaining and investing in the laboratory, health systems can ensure that they’re providing the highest levels of quality and service to providers and patients. This assurance can also be a strong differentiator to convince providers – whether affiliated or not – to send their testing to the health system.
Build Your Brand to Grow Other Ancillary Services
A well-structured laboratory outreach program can significantly enhance a health system’s brand and reputation within the community. By providing accessible, high-quality laboratory services, the health system creates a tangible connection with local providers and patients. This direct engagement, often through convenient outpatient collection sites, acts as a vital brand-building opportunity.
This increased trust and brand recognition can then naturally drive business to other ancillary services offered by the health system, such as imaging, physical therapy, or specialty clinics. The lab acts as a crucial entry point, building loyalty and encouraging patients to utilize the full spectrum of services available within the health system, ultimately driving broader business growth.
hc1 redefines how labs expand their reach, build provider relationships, and capture new revenue – all within a unified, data-powered platform. To learn more about our Outreach Optimization offering, register for our upcoming webinar.
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Michelle Coovert is the Vice President of Marketing for Laboratory Outreach and Growth at hc1, where she helps labs build sustainable, strategic growth programs in an increasingly complex healthcare landscape. With a background in lab operations and a passion for solving outreach challenges, Michelle brings a practical yet forward-looking approach to enabling lab leaders to scale their impact. Her work focuses on connecting the dots between data, technology, and provider relationships – empowering labs to grow with intention, not luck. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Northern Illinois University, a Master of Education from Indiana University, and is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB).
