Process Improvements Reduce Lab Test Turnaround Time

In an effort to reduce test turnaround times at an academic emergency department (ED), investigators used Lean methods (systems engineering methods used in manufacturing to eliminate waste) to analyze and reorganize laboratory processes. The principle intervention was relocation of six laboratory tests from an in-ED kiosk to the hospital's central lab

Comparing the 6 months before the intervention with the 12 months after, the investigators found that turnaround times decreased for most tests. The greatest decreases in turnaround times were for troponin T (reduced by 33 minutes) and urine sedimentation (reduced by 88 minutes). Because the ED-based kiosk no longer had to be staffed, $62,400 was saved annually.