Month: January 2023

By Mackin Bannon
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February 1, 2023

Sendout testing is one of the largest expenses for labs, from large reference labs and health systems to smaller clinical labs and medical facilities. With some labs spending millions of dollars a year on sendouts across dozens of reference labs while being asked to cut costs wherever possible, it is imperative to closely monitor sendout testing costs and performance.

Here are four steps you can take to improve your lab’s sendout testing process.

1. Standardize where similar lab tests are being sent

Most labs expect to send tests out to multiple different reference labs. Different labs have different specialties, and some may offer better pricing or faster turnaround times than others.

Multi-site organizations—whether a health system or a large commercial lab—face a different challenge. Often, different ordering locations within an organization send the same or similar tests to different reference labs. This can occur due to: 

  • An organization making an acquisition, but leaving operations as-is
  • Lack of communication between departments or locations
  • Simply, lack of visibility into the data

Take a look at your sendout data across all your locations and identify any instances where this may be occurring. See if there are opportunities to consolidate where your locations are sending the same or similar tests. Whether you look to achieve the lowest price, the fastest turnaround time or a balance of the two, standardizing your sendout process will help save significant time and effort.

2. Optimize pricing to reduce sendout spend

As mentioned earlier, sendouts are one of the biggest bills in the lab. And with healthcare organizations facing more and more pressure to reduce costs, that sendout bill is a logical place to start.

The first step to optimizing your sendout spending is to analyze all your data across your various reference labs. Identify the reference labs and tests with the highest costs, then work with those vendors to negotiate better rates or move specific tests to another lab with lower prices. Continue to analyze this data over time to ensure you’re always getting optimal prices.

Additionally, you can look internally and identify specific ordering locations or providers with higher-than-expected spending on sendouts. Work with those groups to optimize their test ordering behavior to help reduce spending where possible.

3. Drive accountability on sendout turnaround time

Consistent turnaround time delays can have a significant impact on both patient care and the bottom line, from the inconvenience and added cost of redraws to the loss of partnerships due to missed service level agreements (SLAs).

It is important to regularly monitor turnaround time data for each of your reference labs to ensure they are meeting their SLAs. When they are not, have that data on hand to drive accountability and ensure that your reference labs perform as expected.

4. Assess whether certain sendouts should be brought in-house

With all this data in hand, you are likely to uncover specific sendout tests that cost too much, are not being turned around fast enough or both. If you are unable to drive change through your reference lab to lower costs and/or turnaround times, another option to consider is bringing the tests in-house.

Assess what it would cost to run the specific tests in your lab, factoring in supplies, staffing and any equipment that would need to be purchased. Additionally, determine what a realistic turnaround time would be for your lab to perform the test.

Compare both sets of numbers and, based on your organization’s priorities, make the decision on whether it would be worthwhile to bring the sendout tests in-house.

Next Steps

While the above steps may sound great in theory, many organizations lack the insights they need to make these types of informed decisions on their sendout testing. While reference labs often provide utilization reports with data on the sendouts they receive, each lab sends a different format, the data is not in real-time and there is no way to verify the information.

To overcome these challenges,  hc1 has developed a solution to help labs transform their sendout process.

hc1 Sendout Management™ consolidates data across all your reference labs to provide real-time insight into performance and cost to inform operational decisions. Intuitive dashboards include key metrics like volume, total and average spend and turnaround time, enabling lab management to standardize their sendout process, ensure they are getting the best prices and drive accountability on performance benchmarks.

Are you ready to get started on optimizing your sendout process and spending? Request a demo of hc1 Sendout Management today.

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Mackin Bannon is the product marketing manager for hc1. Mackin held a variety of roles covering nearly every area of marketing before settling on product marketing as a focus and joining hc1 in 2022. During the workday, he enjoys bringing stories to life in clear and creative ways, and in his free time, he enjoys following his favorite sports teams, collecting vinyl records and exploring Indianapolis.

By Dr. Peter J. Plantes
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January 30, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on global health and has highlighted the importance of immunization. While COVID-19, the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all respiratory illnesses, they have some important differences, and it is important for all of us to be aware of these differences and the importance of getting immunized against all three.

As winter approached epidemiologists were strongly predicting that the U.S. would face a rare “triple epidemic” of RSV, Influenza and COVID-19 cases. This winter we are also confronted by a new COVID-19 variant: XBB.1.5. This new covid variant pegged by the World Health Organization as “the most transmissible” descendant yet of the omicron variant, is quickly becoming the dominant strain in the U.S. 

Similarities and Differences Among the Three Viruses

COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and was first identified in Wuhan, China in 2019. It has since become a pandemic, with cases identified in nearly every country in the world. The main symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and difficulty breathing, although some individuals may be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. The virus is primarily spread through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person speaks, coughs, or sneezes. It can also be spread by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.

The flu, or “influenza”, is a viral respiratory illness that is caused by the influenza virus. It is characterized by fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, and fatigue. The flu is likewise spread through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes. It can also be spread by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes. While the symptoms of the flu can be similar to those of COVID-19, the flu is generally less severe and is less likely to result in death than COVID-19.

 “RSV” is a viral respiratory illness caused by the ‘respiratory syncytial virus.’ It is characterized by symptoms such as fever, runny nose, cough, and difficulty breathing. In the same manner as influenza and COVID-19, RSV is primarily spread through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes. It can also be spread by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching the mouth, nose, or eyes. RSV is more common in young children and can lead to serious illness. This is particularly true in infants where the bronchial tubes are very small in diameter and the congestion caused by RSV severely restricts the passage of air.

“One to two out of every 100 children younger than 6 months of age with RSV infection may need to be hospitalized. Those who are hospitalized may require oxygen, IV fluids (if they aren’t eating and drinking), and/or mechanical ventilation (a machine to help with breathing). Most improve with this type of supportive care and are discharged in a few days.” cdc.gov/rsv

Immunization is Important

It is important for everyone to get immunized against COVID-19 and the flu., and (when available)  RSV to protect themselves and others from these illnesses that can spread at an epidemic rate. COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available and have been shown to be safe and effective in preventing COVID-19. The flu vaccine is also widely available and is recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months. The flu vaccine is not perfect, but it can reduce the severity of the flu and can also prevent hospitalization and death. There is currently no FDA-approved vaccine available for RSV, but research is ongoing and manufacturers are on the verge of releasing new RSV vaccines.

Moderna said it plans to file an application for approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the first half of 2023. In phase three RSV vaccine trials in older adults, “The vaccine was 83.7% effective at preventing lower respiratory tract disease, defined as two or more symptoms, in people ages 60 and older, according to the Boston biotech company. It was 82.4% effective at preventing lower respiratory tract disease with three or more symptoms.”

In addition to protecting individuals from getting sick, immunization also helps to reduce the spread of these illnesses across the population and protect vulnerable populations who may be at higher risk of severe illness or death. This is known as “herd immunity.” When a large percentage of a population is immunized (likely 60-70%), it is less likely for an outbreak to occur, and the virus or illness can have a difficult time spreading. This is especially important for protecting those who are unable to get vaccinated due to age or underlying health conditions (such as a weakened immune system.)

As a country, we have reached “herd immunity” against some formidable viruses, such as rubella and measles. It was thought that the US would get there with Covid-19, but that is probably wrong.

“The concept of classical herd immunity may not apply to Covid-19,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the recently-retired director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview with CNN (April 15, 2022.)  And that “means we’re not going to be without SARS-CoV-2 in the population for a considerable period of time,” said Fauci, who recently co-authored a paper on herd immunity for the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

It is important for everyone to be aware of the importance of immunization and to take steps to protect themselves and others from COVID-19, the flu, and RSV. This includes getting vaccinated, practicing good hygiene, such as washing hands frequently and covering coughs and sneezes and following guidelines from public health officials. When indoors in tight crowded spaces, the use of a quality face mask is encouraged*. By working together and taking these steps, we can help to protect ourselves and our communities from these illnesses.
**[Reference: Allyson Chiu “Masks and covid-19: Explaining the latest guidance.” The Washington Post, Dec17, 2021.]