November 2023

November 30, 2023

The facts are…

Lab testing is the #1 utilized medical benefit.
The volume of tests being sent to labs is increasing, but adequate staff to perform the testing is scarce.

The result? Lab managers are being challenged to do more with less.

Lab leaders and managers nationwide know the challenge of being asked to improve performance, do more and meet goals with fewer resources and staff. Though a steady volume of tests entering clinical labs and health systems is necessary for patient care, not having the proper resources to avoid high levels of staff burnout and a lack of staff retention is creating a breaking point for lab managers. According to the 2023 Lab Trend Report, more than 14 billion clinical laboratory tests are performed each year, making it the number one utilized medical benefit. So, what’s the solution?

Labs are looking to their data for answers

hc1 recently presented a webinar on Doing More With Less – How labs can better utilize their data to drive superior outcomes, where Directors of High Value Care, Dawn Seymour and Adam Sajewich shared what some hc1 lab clients have done to overcome their biggest challenges. Through an interactive multiple-choice poll during the webinar, participants were asked what they are expected to do more of while having fewer resources in their labs. The top results were:

Increasing testing volume despite staffing shortages.
Improving test utilization without insight into order habits.

The key to resolving these challenges lies within something every lab has at its fingertips but can’t fully access the true value of––Data. The complexity of lab data prevents many labs from extracting its full value. The data is oriented around a specific observation during a single encounter and combined with qualitative clinical input. This makes viewing the data in a meaningful way in aggregate, across multiple encounters or over time very difficult. Leveraging this powerful resource to its fullest extent requires a dedicated and knowledgeable team to extract its insights.

Real-time visibility into test utilization helps reduce waste and improve care

Unnecessary medical care contributes billions of dollars annually to healthcare spending in the United States. A critical look at lab ordering across a network can potentially garner millions of dollars in hard cost savings. hc1 Test Utilization™ helps hospital labs reduce unnecessary low-value and high-cost tests to improve patient care and reduce costs. hc1 Test Utilization evaluates orders in real-time and accounts for diagnosis, location, specialty medications, demographics and more.

A case study from a 12-hospital health system showing how they achieved positive, measurable change through real-time visibility, data-backed insights and actionable metrics using hc1 Test Utilization was shared during our Doing More with Less webinar. System-wide, they achieved a 5.6% reduction in lab tests per patient per day, which amounted to 147k fewer unnecessary tests per year and a conservative cost savings of $383k per year with just ten clinical guidelines set within the solution. This client success story is one we are very proud of.

Real-time insights fuel outreach growth and overcome disconnected, disparate systems

Other areas of concern voiced by lab leaders were addressed during the webinar, such as outreach growth and the struggle labs experience because their data and processes are scattered across various disparate systems that are disconnected and unable to communicate with one another. “Because I’m 99% certain that all of us don’t fully understand the capabilities of lab data because of the source system limitations, we’ve architected hc1 solutions from the ground up for laboratories with design first principles that contemplate the multi-dimensional nature of lab to remove these limitations,” Sajewich said, “Not only are we able to provide an intuitive experience, but we can automate workflows and reporting from the platform. You can set thresholds to receive alerts if turnaround times spike above your expectations or you’ve been hit with a volume spike and need to adjust staffing levels to accommodate. We show you where to focus based on what we see within the data your lab generates.”

AI-generated recommendations help to optimize staffing levels to reduce burnout proactively, lower labor costs and improve lab operations

hc1 Workforce Optimization is the most recent addition to the hc1 portfolio and was highlighted during the webinar. Workforce Optimization addresses one of the most significant issues labs face today: adequate staffing. With 67% of labs nationwide experiencing employee understaffing, burnout and turnover are among the most prevalent consequences of consistent understaffing. This can also lead to missed benchmarks and increased turnaround times, negatively impacting patient outcomes.

Workforce Optimization combines lab volume and timekeeping data in a single platform and then utilizes machine learning and AI to create a data-driven strategy that provides actionable recommendations with high-level visibility on where to proactively optimize staffing levels by location, lab department and time of day. All of this helps retain employees, reduce costs and elevate patient care.

Built to help labs succeed

We’re working to close the gap between data and taking action.

hc1 has been helping IDNs, academic medical centers and the largest commercial labs in the world overcome their top challenges for over a decade. Are you ready to learn how to elevate your lab, resolve your staffing challenges, and attain your goals?

To learn more about the aforementioned info and the tangible next steps you can take to capitalize on your data, watch the webinar Doing More With Less on-demand by clicking here and be empowered to conquer your lab’s needs.

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Lorri Markum is the marketing manager for hc1 Insights and has over two decades of corporate and nonprofit marketing leadership experience. Lorri specializes in B2B marketing and SEO optimization. Before joining hc1, she was the marketing manager for a nonprofit healthcare organization serving 40 counties throughout Indiana.

November 27, 2023

Healthcare used to operate almost exclusively on a fee-for-service basis, meaning each service performed was a line item billed separately and regardless of the outcome. That era is passing. Increasingly, high value care is the new driving force. This trend toward a team-provided and patient-centered healthcare model impacts both physical and financial outcomes.

November 10, 2023

Health system laboratories are entering a pivotal season as they move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and take on the challenges that have been left in its wake. From critical staffing shortages to extraordinary financial pressures to rapidly changing technology, labs are being tasked with increasing volume, generating more revenue and adapting to new technology despite fewer staffing, supply and financial resources.

Here are the top three challenges health system labs are facing and how hc1 can help overcome them.

1. Lack of Staffing

Lack of staffing is one of the biggest challenges health system labs face. The United States faces a critical shortage of laboratory professionals of around 20-25,000 individuals, roughly one medical laboratory scientist per 1,000 people. Further, a recent survey of lab professionals uncovered that 73 percent of laboratories are understaffed.

As lab professionals are being asked to do more with less, there are several risks. When lab departments are understaffed, it can lead to missed benchmarks and increased turnaround time. Additionally, understaffing can lead to burnout and the loss of even more staff – 85.3 percent of respondents to a survey by the American Society for Clinical Pathology reported having felt burnout as a laboratory professional.

To fill in the gaps, labs are left to pay overtime hours, hire contract staff or send testing out to reference labs. All of these are costly solutions that negatively impact the lab’s bottom line, leading to the next challenge health system labs are facing…

2. Growing Revenue Through Outreach

Hospitals and health systems are facing extraordinary financial pressures. According to a report from the American Hospital Association, over half of hospitals ended 2022 operating at a financial loss, primarily due to hospital expense growth outpacing Medicare reimbursement by about 10 percent.

To combat these financial challenges, health systems are looking for ways to “launch new lines of business, add new services and find ways to differentiate,” as stated by Optum in a recent report. Their survey of 150 healthcare leaders found that 49 percent consider growth one of the industry’s top challenges.

Within the lab, this often means starting or growing outreach programs to generate additional revenue for the health system. “Hospital-based labs across the United States are forging ahead with their lab outreach services in ways that generate many benefits,” said Jane Hermansen, manager of outreach and network development at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, in an interview with Dark Daily.

Yet, many labs run their outreach programs out of LIS or Excel, which are not designed for tracking sales activity and managing customer service cases like a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Meanwhile, others who are new to the outreach business may not have any systems or processes in place to ensure efficient workflows, quality service and accurate data. On the topic of data…

3. Becoming More Data-Driven

Healthcare organizations of all types – including laboratories – are beginning to understand better the importance of data in improving operations, optimizing spend and making better business decisions. The Optum survey referenced above found that data and analytics are the top investment priority for healthcare leaders, with nearly 90 percent of respondents considering data and analytics maturity as an area of importance.

In the lab, data analytics are becoming more prevalent. According to Medical Laboratory Observer’s State of the Industry: Lab Data Analytics, 49 percent of lab professionals said they are utilizing data analytics for some aspects of their operations and planning, up from 42 percent in 2022. These labs are using data to monitor turnaround time, analyze cost per test, measure staff productivity, uncover unnecessary testing and more

However, becoming more data-driven is easier said than done. According to the Medical Laboratory Observer report, only 31 percent of labs have access to real-time data in their analytics tools. Additionally, 51 percent of respondents said interoperability and data integration issues with LISs or EHRs are a stumbling block to implementing electronic processes at their labs.

When considering the staffing shortages and financial pressures previously mentioned, health system labs can’t afford to waste time navigating between disconnected systems and manually manipulating data to get the reports and insights they need.

hc1 can Help Your Health System Lab Overcome Challenges

For over a decade, hc1 has been helping the nation’s leading laboratories tackle their toughest challenges. Our secure, HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based solutions reveal real-time insights and signals with the lab’s own data, empowering lab leaders to optimize operations, engage with providers and inform testing and treatment decisions.

Labs are using the following hc1 solutions today to solve the abovementioned challenges.

Staffing: hc1 Workforce Optimization™ helps lab leaders proactively optimize staffing levels by predicting demand for lab services across the organization and suggesting specific, department-level resource adjustments.

Outreach: hc1 Operations Management™ brings sales, service and operations workflows onto a single platform to enable labs to act on sales opportunities, quickly resolve issues and ensure customers are satisfied.

Data and Analytics: hc1 Performance Analytics™ connects disparate lab data sources, such as LIS, billing and EHR, to deliver actionable, real-time insights via dashboards and reports designed specifically for the lab.

Are you ready to tackle the top three challenges your health system lab faces? Let hc1 help you overcome these hurdles and transform your lab’s performance.

Take control of your lab’s future and reach new heights! Request a demo to learn more about how hc1 can help you optimize staff scheduling, grow outreach and make data-driven decisions.

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Mackin Bannon is the product marketing manager for hc1. Mackin held various roles covering nearly every marketing area 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. In his free time, he enjoys following his favorite sports teams, collecting vinyl records and exploring Indianapolis.