15, July 2005: Dayton General Hospital Laboratory Recognition

During the months of April – July 2004, the Dayton General Hospital Laboratory conducted a  laboratory test Turn Around Time survey.   Data was collected in the laboratory on all tests performed in house.   Results of the data collection showed that routine samples took 1.5 – 4.0 hours from collection to reporting results and that the turn around time for STAT or Urgent tests was 40 minutes.  This was pretty good when compared with other laboratories, but the laboratory staff at Dayton General felt that they could do better for our patients.

In July, Laboratory manager Renee Dunham attended a conference sponsored by the American Society for Clinical Chemists (AACC) and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP).  One of the seminars attended was a case study of a laboratory that had used the Six Sigma and LEAN processes for change to implement a new workflow and a decreased time to results environment.  The target goal for these initial trails has been a one hour Turn Around Time.  This process has only been achieved in 2 or 3 laboratories across the nation. 

What is Lean Healthcare? For years manufacturers have been perfecting Lean Manufacturing techniques to improve productivity, eliminate waste, improve the quality of their products, and lower manufacturing costs. Now these techniques are available to hospitals in the form of Lean Healthcare. The basic principles of Lean Manufacturing and Lean Healthcare are:

Add only value (eliminate waste).

Concentrate on people who perform value-added activities.

Respond to customer demand.

Optimize across the organization.

During the months of October, November, and December the Laboratory Staff has focused on eliminating wasteful steps in processing, standardizing practices, creating a more efficient workflow, and collaborating with other departments within the hospital to achieve the one hour Turn Around Time goal.  The preliminary data shows that all patient samples are being reported in an average of 39 minutes from the time they are received in the laboratory, making Dayton General Hospital one of four hospitals in the nation that has been able to achieve this lofty goal! 

The Turn Around Time measure includes most testing which is performed in our laboratory.  Complete Chemistry panels, Lipid Panes, Complete Blood Counts, Thyroid panels, PSA, Urinalysis, and Diabetes testing are all tests that can be performed within one hour.  More esoteric type testing is sent to a large reference laboratory in Spokane and is usually completed in less than 24 hours.  Any laboratory testing a patient needs can be performed at Dayton General Hospital or the reference lab, with the results being electronically transmitted directly to the ordering provider usually within that 24 hour period.