Journal:Strategies for laboratory professionals to drive laboratory stewardship

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Full article title Strategies for laboratory professionals to drive laboratory stewardship
Journal Practical Laboratory Medicine
Author(s) White, Terra, E.; Wong, Wesley B.; Janowiak, Diane; Hilborne, Lee H.
Author affiliation(s) Quest Diagnostics, hc1, University of California - Los Angeles
Primary contact terra dot e dot white at questdiagnostics dot com
Year published 2021
Volume and issue 26
Article # e00249
DOI 10.1016/j.plabm.2021.e00249
ISSN 2352-5517
Distribution license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Website https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352551721000494
Download https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352551721000494/pdfft (PDF)

Abstract

Appropriate laboratory testing is critical in today's healthcare environment that aims to improve patient care while reducing cost. In recent years, laboratory stewardship has emerged as a strategy for assuring quality in laboratory medicine with the goal of providing the right test for the right patient at the right time. Implementing a laboratory stewardship program now presents a valuable opportunity for laboratory professionals to exercise leadership within health systems and to drive change toward realizing aims in healthcare. The proposed framework for program implementation includes five key elements: 1) a clear vision and organizational alignment; 2) appropriate skills for program execution and management; 3) resources to support the program; 4) incentives to motivate participation; and, 5) a plan of action that articulates program objectives and metrics. This framework builds upon principles of change management, with emphasis on engagement with clinical and administrative stakeholders and the use of clinical data as the basis for change. These strategies enable laboratory professionals to cultivate organizational support for improving laboratory use and take a leading role in providing high-quality patient care.

Keywords: clinical laboratory, laboratory stewardship, quality of health care, change management, patient care, leadership

Introduction

Establishing the correct diagnosis is fundamental to the appropriate treatment of patients, making laboratory testing and other diagnostic services (e.g., radiology) critical to the overall practice of medicine. Some suggest that up to 70% of medical decisions are based, in part, on laboratory findings.[1] While the specific percentage may be debatable, there is no question that laboratory diagnostics are central for medical practice today. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the critical role that the nation's laboratories and laboratory professionals play in assuring quality healthcare, well beyond just the pandemic response. Healthcare leaders repeatedly acknowledged the importance of laboratory testing for COVID-19 patient management to, for example, assess symptomatic patients, identify emerging variants, and perform effective contact tracing. [2] Laboratory medicine is also central to the worlds' public health response to COVID-19. [3]


References

Notes

This presentation is faithful to the original, with only a few minor changes to presentation, grammar, and punctuation. In some cases important information was missing from the references, and that information was added.