What Does Turnaround Time Say About Your Lab?

Every lab knows that their colleagues in medicine see turnaround time (TAT) as something almost as important as the quality of test results themselves. In fact, surveys have found that 80% of labs get complaints about TAT. However, TAT can mean much more than just keeping physicians happy.

On the same day patients arrive for a chemotherapy infusion—up to 80 a day—oncologists routinely order complete blood counts (CBC) and comprehensive metabolic panels (CPNL) to discern whether the patient is healthy enough for treatment. Chemotherapy drugs are so toxic that they can destroy red blood cells and damage the liver and kidneys.

After studying the problem and tracking the exact path of samples, lab team came up with a plan that reduced the median collection-to-result turnaround time for CBCs from 50 minutes to 20, and for CPNLs from 74 minutes to 54. 

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What Does Turnaround Time Say About Your Lab?

 Source: AACC