This presentation is an overview of the “Promoting Lab Visibility” Pillar of the ASCP Negotiation and Advocacy Toolbox.
The Toolbox includes many resources related to Pillar 1: Promoting Laboratory Visibility, and categorized into subtopics listed below. Check out this Intended Use document (pdf) to see a brief description of each item available. A supplementary References document (pdf) is also available.
Note: Any tools and/or resources used from this Toolkit should be adapted for you own laboratory or health system, as appropriate.
Lab Visibility
Use to elevate and sustain laboratory visibility internally within the health system, as well as externally. Identifies tools that you can use to advocate for your lab and efficiently run a clinical lab.
Sample presentation template with key metrics to include to demonstrate the value of the lab. Use to communicate the value of the lab to senior management, to gain trust and help justify needs for the lab.
Use to communicate important changes such as new tests, obsolete test, new reference ranges, new technology both internally and externally. A newsletter can enhance trust between your laboratory and physicians. It can help brand your laboratory as a trusted resource and build expectations of what services you provide. Consult your marketing departments, as they may have templates already used within the organization.
Use to distribute internally and externally to communicate important changes such as new tests, obsolete tests, new reference ranges, new technology. A newsletter can enhance trust between your laboratory and physicians. It can help brand your laboratory as a trusted resource and build expectations of what services you provide.
Used to communicate important updates and changes both internally and externally. A newsletter can enhance trust between your laboratory, physicians, and the community. It can help brand your laboratory as a trusted resource and build expectations of what services you provide to the hospital and community. This example from ASCP provides highlights of volunteer opportunities, spotlights on laboratorians, awards and scholarship opportunities. Consult your marketing departments, as they may have templates already used within the organization.
Tool to track outliers for Newborn Screening collections and submissions. Use this tool to work collaboratively with OB to improve processes.
ASCP’s website to provide helpful education and roadmaps on laboratory career pathways, one-pagers on different laboratory careers, videos from laboratory heroes, etc. This website has excellent promotional materials to support external advocacy as you help to bring awareness of clinical laboratory career paths to high school students, college students, career fairs, STEM events, and other public-facing laboratory visibility events.
Use to present at high schools, colleges, career days to promote the MLS profession.
Quality & Compliance (Organizational Quality / Division meeting)
High-level scorecard reflecting the quality and services provided by the laboratory. Use this tool to share your quarterly metrics with Medical Directors and other departments as appropriate.
Tool that allows laboratory to track corrected reports and follow up actions. Share this information with Organizational Quality to identify errors or trends and to improve reporting.
Use to present key metrics at various committees and show to inspectors and senior administration. Also use to monitor trends and implement process improvements, if applicable.
Example of proposed transfusion guidelines for RBC and platelets. Incorporate in patient blood management program and clinical decision support to improve physician order practices. Present at transfusion committee and MED staff committee for approval.
Percent of AM lab draws that are collected, received, and/or resulted by 8 AM, 9 AM or any other defined time. Use to monitor % of AM draws resulted by a defined time frame (e.g. 8 AM, 9 AM) to expedite discharges by a defined time (e.g. 11 AM) and reduce Length of Stay (LOS).
Example of turn-around time dashboards for laboratory testing, various divisions. Use these dashboards to present at various committees. The Lab Turnaround Time KPI measures the ability of your lab to process lab results. This is the base KPI for any lab and is a leading indicator for patient satisfaction.
Use this template to share your inspection summary to Organizational Quality and Provision of Care staff and demonstrate lab value to the organization.
Quality – Coordination of Care (Nursing)
Monitors pre-analytical non-conforming events such as hemolysis, clotted, and contaminated specimens. Use to help monitor the rate of individual phlebotomists to guide re-education and refresher training. Another use is to monitor nursing error rates and, if above the threshold, share results with the nurse educator to help with compliance. Pre- analytical errors comparing Phlebotomists Vs. Nursing can be used to justify hiring additional phlebotomists to draw blood.
Tool that presents metrics tracked in coordination with Organizational Quality or Provision of Care Coordinating Council. Present to organizational quality or Provision of Care Coordinating Council to provide updates and projects in progress.
Use to communicate internally and/or with outreach clients on the proper labeling of microbiology specimens.
Use this form and questions when rounding with managers and directors within the organization. This will help you gain insight on what is and is not working well and improve. Start rounding with areas that your lab interacts with the most such as the operating rooms, and/or you can use it to round with your outreach customers.
Value – Coordination of Care (Providers)
Example of Test Utilization dashboards. User can filter by test, ICD10 code, physician, and other metrics. Use to help give feedback of physician test utilization for specific tests such as Vitamin D, A1C, etc. Use to monitor overutilization of certain tests and help educate physicians and senior management. This also will help cut cost and help the bottom line of the health system.
Sample blood utilization dashboards to present at transfusion committee and Medical Staff committees. Share with IT to give them an idea of what is required when building Transfusion Guideline dashboards. This tool will help reduce unwarranted blood product transfusions. All providers will be encouraged to help the System achieve this goal by reviewing their own transfusion utilization data.
Use to present key microbiology metrics at various committees including Quality Assurance committee, Emergency Department, and infection control.
Use to present key metrics at various committees and to senior administration. Also, use to monitor trends and implement process improvements, if applicable.
Incorporate in patient blood management program and clinical decision support to improve physician order practices. Present at the transfusion committee, MED staff committee and other committees for input and approval.
Incorporate in patient blood management program and clinical decision support to improve physician order practices. Present at transfusion committee and MED staff committee for approval.
Roll-out as part of a marketing campaign plan to educate physicians and other healthcare providers regarding blood utilization. Transfusion of the smallest effective dose of red blood cells (RBCs) is recommended because liberal transfusion strategies do not improve outcomes when compared to restrictive strategies. Unnecessary transfusion generates costs and exposes patients to potential adverse effects without any likelihood of benefit. Clinicians are urged to avoid the routine administration of two units of RBCs if one unit is sufficient and to use appropriate weight-based dosing of RBCs in children.
Value – VP/COO Executive leader meetings
Sample PowerPoint highlighting key improvements and metrics about the Torrance Memorial Clinical Laboratory (a ASCP/JCC recognized Leading Laboratory). Use as an example on what to present as a brief overview about your clinical lab to highlight laboratory value, innovation, and quality.
Presentation about elevating the profile of the laboratory (presented by Torrance Memorial Clinical Laboratory – a ASCP/ JCC recognized Leading Laboratory). Presentation that includes key slides and ideas that you can use to elevate and sustain the profile of your lab.
Videos / Tutorials
Sample video to use to explain the need and the importance of blood donation. Work with the internal marketing department to develop a video that you can play in the donor room while donors are waiting and/or share with internal employees as a part of blood donor campaign program.
Use to educate nurses and specific areas (e.g. Emergency department, etc.) on the proper labeling of blood specimens. Can use during nurse orientation or roll out internally with the help of your marketing department to educate all nurses and help lower the number of improperly labeled specimens. Accurate patient identification and correct specimen labeling are critical patient safety issues in healthcare. Inaccurately identified specimens can lead to delayed or wrong diagnoses, missed or incorrect treatments, blood transfusion errors, and additional laboratory testing.
Outlay a plan for communications to promote visibility of the laboratory and gain stakeholder buy-in and interest in the laboratory.
Be the best place to work in pathology and laboratory medicine by cultivating diverse life-long learners and engaging and guiding the next generation of laboratory leaders, supervisors, managers, and MLS to build a culture of patient-focused lab advocates.
Strengthen the quality program throughout the department and enhance patient safety
Ensure that overall financial performance continues to keep pace with the operating and capital requirements needed to advance divisional and departmental mission and values.
Accelerate innovation and implement the best cutting-edge technologies throughout the laboratory to increase clinical volume, operational expansion, and geographic outreach.
Let’s put the Toolbox to work!
Outlay a plan for communications to promote visibility of the laboratory and gain stakeholder buy-in and interest in the laboratory.
Be the best place to work in pathology and laboratory medicine by cultivating diverse life-long learners and engaging and guiding the next generation of laboratory leaders, supervisors, managers, and MLS to build a culture of patient-focused lab advocates.
Strengthen the quality program throughout the department and enhance patient safety
Ensure that overall financial performance continues to keep pace with the operating and capital requirements needed to advance divisional and departmental mission and values.
Accelerate innovation and implement the best cutting-edge technologies throughout the laboratory to increase clinical volume, operational expansion, and geographic outreach.
Let’s put the Toolbox to work!
ASCP’s website to provide helpful education and roadmaps on laboratory career pathways, one-pagers on different laboratory careers, videos from laboratory heroes, etc. This website has excellent promotional materials to support external advocacy as you help to bring awareness of clinical laboratory career paths to high school students, college students, career fairs, STEM events, and other public-facing laboratory visibility events.
