Cutting turnaround times without cutting corners

Andrew Wyatt, Chief Growth Officer at Sapio Sciences*, discusses how laboratory information management systems can improve a lab’s turnaround time.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 70% of today’s medical decisions rely on lab test results. However, nearly 80% of labs report receiving complaints about their turnaround time (TAT).

The complexity behind TAT in NGS labs

Today’s clinical labs specialising in next-generation sequencing (NGS) — a discipline that analyses data to identify genetic information, mutations and biomarkers for research and diagnostics — could be managing a 10- to 12-step process that includes sample recording to test ordering and sample prep. This is often done alongside sequencing, data collection, processing and analysis, and report generation.

With so much activity, any delay, at any step in the process, can significantly impact samples processing and results reporting, and extend a lab’s TAT. Ultimately, this can lead to potentially dangerous outcomes, including delayed patient treatment.

Four key factors affecting TAT

TAT can be affected by a host of factors, but these can generally be categorised into four key components: pre-testing errors, sample volumes, data complexity and lab resourcing.

1. Pre-testing errors

Errors during the ‘pre-analytical phase’ can account for 60–70% of TAT delays in clinical labs. These issues, which often happen before the sample is even in the possession of the testing facility, include paper requisitions or disparate online ordering processes, incorrect patient and specimen collection, identification, transport or receipt.

2. Sample volumes and workflow management

The average clinical lab processes thousands of samples every day, with larger commercial labs handling significantly more. Dealing with this scale of samples requires highly effective process management, with even minor errors leading to significant delays, which can have serious ramifications for patients.

3. Data complexity

All samples bring unique challenges, but labs specialising in NGS are dealing with specific demands, including complex sample management, continuous monitoring and instrument integration. Managing sample processing while carefully and accurately deciphering the data generated requires extraordinary attention to detail. The smallest disruption often leads to a dramatic impact on overall TAT.

4. Lab resourcing

A shortage of skilled technicians, coupled with unsustainable workloads and/or staff burnout, can seriously impact the efficiency and accuracy of an NGS lab. With few technicians available, work becomes harder to manage, often leading to increased errors and extended TAT.

Solving the TAT challenge with modern LIMS

Modern, cloud-based laboratory information management systems (LIMS) can help avoid many of the causes of increased TAT, helping to improve the overall operational efficiency, accuracy and reliability of the testing facility. Such a system, when deployed across the entire testing workflow, enables key process improvements.

For example, a physician portal extends the testing workflow right into the doctor’s office, allowing clinicians to create orders, track status and receive results without the risk of losing data or missing information. By extending the testing workflow directly to relevant stakeholders, labs can improve communication, reduce frustration and streamline the process from order placement to report delivery.

Benefits of a modern LIMS include:

• Digitising sample accessioning and order processing ensures a smooth and rapid transition from order placement to specimen processing and assignment to the appropriate internal workflows.
• Methods of identifying samples, such as barcodes and QR codes, remove errors that could arise from registering samples manually.
• Using a modern platform that integrates data from across an existing IT system, and includes data from legacy systems and disparate instruments, enables clinical reports to be generated automatically based on results from various diagnostic processes or departments.
• This significantly accelerates the reporting process. Again, via a physician’s portal, these reports can be automatically delivered back to the doctor, further improving the TAT of the lab.

Enabling better outcomes with faster, smarter testing

High sample volumes, pre-analytical mistakes and complex workflows are only some of the many hurdles that diagnostic labs must overcome to maintain an acceptable TAT and ensure patients receive the correct diagnosis and treatment in a reasonable time frame.

Implementing a modern, configurable LIMS can have a positive impact on every aspect of a laboratory by orchestrating the different components of the diagnostics process. As such, the LIMS can expand and automate processes, guarantee precise sample management, data integration and analysis, increase operational efficiency, and drive down TAT.

To find out more, visit www.sapiosciences.com.

*As Chief Growth Officer for Strategic Partnerships at Sapio Sciences, Andrew Wyatt is responsible for growing the company’s international operations. With his deep understanding of the life sciences industry and proven ability to navigate the complexities of scaling operations, Andrew has consistently built organisations that delight customers while maximising shareholder value.

Top image credit: iStock.com/Zephyr18