Medical laboratory technology: the importance of clinically relevant turnaround time

There’s no question that turnaround time (TAT) is a critical aspect of the laboratory business especially clinical reference laboratory turnaround time. At the end of the day, however, TAT is important because it impacts patient health.

So rather than focusing on traditional TAT, which is measured in terms of “time to result,” lab professionals should focus on “clinically impactful TAT,” which considers the temporal relationship of the sample within the patient’s overall treatment and care.

Clinical reference laboratory turnaround time (TAT): a higher measure

Imagine, for example, a physician who treats patients that generally return for follow-ups after 2-3 weeks. This physician may not need test results within 1.5 hours. A doctor treating a patient in sepsis, on the other hand, may need results at the earliest possible second.

An understanding of the clinical “scenario behind the sample” can inform the lab’s understanding of what is truly clinically impactful when it comes to TAT.

Efforts to improve clinically impactful TAT will focus resources where they are needed in order to provide the greatest benefit to patients and doctors. Rather than processing a routine PAP smear within a one-day TAT, for example, the lab may focus on the samples that are required for review before the doctors’ morning rounds the next day. In terms of clinically relevant TAT, the routine PAP smear testing can wait another day, but the samples for tomorrow’s rounds must be analysed immediately if they are to have timely clinical impact.

Communication is key for TAT

Relationships between doctors and labs can greatly benefit from a focus on clinically impactful TAT, and communication is important to understanding exactly where the focus should be directed.

To improve communication between the clinicians and our team, we created a hotline that gives clinicians direct access to us. This hotline improves our clinically impactful TAT by helping us understand the scenarios behind the samples. For example, if a patient is waiting for a lab result before he or she can be discharged, the clinicians can call the hotline to have that patient’s sample moved to the front of the line so the patient can go home faster.

We have seen excellent outcomes since using this hotline, including improved relationships with clinicians and, we hope, improved perception of the lab among patients.

In a field where TAT is a priority, laboratories should begin highlighting to both doctors and patients the importance of clinically impactful TAT. It may take some convincing, but the change in focus will ultimately improve relationships and overall patient care.