by Michelle Del Guercio | September 1, 2020 | Blog

As health systems recover from revenue declines, furloughs and layoffs while maintaining readiness for future coronavirus outbreaks, system leaders are now more likely to scrutinize spending for fiscal responsibility. If your organization is considering a shift from best-of-breed laboratory technology to an enterprise-wide system and EHR with a patchwork of add-on applications, now is an important time to elevate this question: During a pandemic, is it fiscally responsible to spend millions moving away from best-of-breed laboratory systems that work?

Such a change could diminish autonomous lab capabilities and weaken lab-specific data streams – all this, at a time when lab data should be used more robustly to help identify clinical strategies for intervention, prevention, cost reduction, cost avoidance and risk adjustment. Because best-of-breed lab systems typically have the most advanced and flexible reporting functionality, they can drive predictive modeling for slowing disease progression, decreasing lengths of stay and improving outcomes.

Consider these lessons learned from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, a time of tremendous pressure on labs and expectation to perform quickly, accurately and compliantly:

• 1.    

• If the fight against disease is your battle, the lab is your command post.

• Labs produce the majority of patient data affecting testing and treatment decisions – it’s crucial that you avoid disrupting the intricacies of those operations. With labs functioning as the central hub of any infectious disease response, critical success factors are more readily achievable and cost-effective with best-of-breed solutions:

• Interoperability:

  Unlike enterprise-wide EHR solutions for the lab, a best-of-breed laboratory information system (LIS) vendor provides turnkey integration with sites and systems well beyond hospital walls. The Sunquest Laboratory™ LIS improves interoperability across the community and care continuum by seamlessly interfacing with ambulatory testing locations (including pop-ups), public health labs, physician practices and other external partners. With proven expertise in lab-systems integration, Sunquest delivers a well-connected ecosystem for the lab, enabling organizations to augment or complement workflows in ways that decrease specimen handling time, increase productivity and improve turnaround time. For example, integrated solutions such as Sunquest Multi-Lab Networking℠, Sunquest Advanced EMR Connectivity℠, Sunquest Physician Portal℠ and Sunquest PSC Portal℠ enable health systems to be quick and nimble in the response to COVID-19, rapidly standing up additional draw centers and hospital locations to support increased patient volume and ensure test results are delivered appropriately. Having best-of-breed interoperability and connectivity protects patient safety and supports appropriate, cost-effective patient care with important features that are not always built in to EHR solutions, such as abnormal test notifications, the ability to distribute reports according to physician preferences, simplified test catalog management alongside streamlined results tracking or reflex testing.