Ways to Improve Specimen Storage by Michelle Urban

Reimbursement cuts and the heavy resource burdens that accompany healthcare reform mandates, are forcing labs to re-evaluate how they do business. Many labs have shifted to focus on core lab capabilities while outsourcing less routine or less profitable tests. However, a less widely explored but equally critical component in conquering the rising cost, declining reimbursement conundrum is the strategic outsourcing of historically in-house functions. One such example is specimen storage, as G2 Intelligence uncovered in their most recent whitepaper: Could Specimen Storage Outsourcing Help Labs Compete in Today's Cost Conscious Environment?

Through a series of qualitative interviews with Lab Managers, Directors, and Vice Presidents based in the United States, G2 Intelligence explores how something as foundational as the way in which labs storage and manage specimens might directly impact the laboratory's ability to enable and support mission critical functions. Though ripe with interesting information, you can break out key findings to three main themes:

Inefficiencies and redundancies are common in the dominate, or in-house, specimen storage practices.

There are clear disconnects between the perceived benefits of in-house storage and actual capabilities (or actual value).

Outsourced storage models are being successfully leveraged to more strategically leverage onsite space and resources in today's environment.

Interestingly enough, it wasn't the information provided by the respondents that was most telling, but rather the clear gap that emerged between the express intent and expressed outcomes. To some extent, it appears many decisions are being driven based on what's always been rather than what could be. Clearly, onsite storage has been and continues to be the preferred method;however, that doesn't mean the popular method is the ideal. In fact, the case studies in the research indicate otherwise.

Given that the market, demands, and storage alternatives have evolved, isn't it logical to assume that, so too, should your storage approach? Wouldn't it be practical to better align with these changing demands and better support your laboratory's long term vision?

For more information, read the rest of the blogs in this series and the whitepaper Could Specimen Storage Outsourcing Help Labs Compete in Today's Cost Conscious Environment?

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2015/industry/healthcare-information-man...
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