Automated Labs Can Deliver Savings to Hospitals
North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, recently installed a fully automated laboratory. With 518 beds and over 5,000 employees, the hospital has increased the number of blood samples it can process per hour from 90 samples to 300 with the lab since it started operating more than a year ago. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal quotes Nancy King, chemistry department supervisor for North Memorial, as saying: “Automation has decreased turnaround time and improved patient care. We are a Level 1 Trauma Center and it’s important to get results in a timely manner.” The automated system cut into many manual steps from the previous process, so the hospital is planning to open the lab to the entire state.
Other hospitals likewise consider taking lab testing in-house to consolidate staff, save costs, and be able to process a bigger number and a wider variety of tests. Staffing shortage concerns are a chief reason to consider this option. Other facilities prefer to focus on improving their manual workflows through methodologies such as “lean” thinking imported from manufacturing.
July 28, 2006 Related topics: Laboratory Equipment, Cost savings