Evaluation and Improvement Strategy of Analytical Turnaround Time in the Stat Laboratory

Chien, Tzu-I; Lu, Jin-Ying; Kao, Jau-Tsuen; Cheng, Ya-Chih; Lee, Ya-Fen

doi:10.1016/S0929-6646(07)60006-0

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Volume 106, Issue 7 , Pages 558-564, 2007

Evaluation and Improvement Strategy of Analytical Turnaround Time in the Stat Laboratory

Tzu-I Chien
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Jin-Ying Lu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Jau-Tsuen Kao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Correspondence to: Professor Jau-Tsuen Kao, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, 7 Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Ya-Chih Cheng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Ya-Fen Lee
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 100, Taiwan

Received 5 September 2006; received in revised form 17 February 2007; accepted 10 April 2007.

Background/Purpose

Laboratory analytical turnaround time represents laboratory effectiveness. Our study aimed to evaluate laboratory analytical turnaround time to optimize workflow and shorten analytical turnaround time.

Methods

We used the laboratory information system in a 2000-bed teaching hospital to compute and analyze the 90^th percentile turnaround time of the Stat Laboratory from 2001 to 2003.

Results

The overall 90^th percentile turnaround time in the Stat Laboratory was 40–49 minutes and positively correlated with test volume. The daily test volume in the Stat Laboratory has grown significantly in the latter 2 half-years of the study as compared with the previous 2 half-years (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). The daily longest turnaround time occurred in the early morning, and troponin-I testing contributed to the majority of incidences of prolongation of analytical turnaround time. We prioritized the performance of troponin-I testing, which resulted in a reduction of the analytical turnaround time by about 18 minutes (from 66 to 48 minutes) and no increment of overall turnaround time (42 to 44 minutes) despite continuously increasing test volume.