Clinical laboratory automation: a case study
<em>Background</em>. This paper presents a case study of an automated clinical laboratory in a large urban academic teaching hospital in the North of Italy, the Spedali Civili in Brescia, where four laboratories were merged in a unique laboratory through the introduction of laboratory au...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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SAGE Publishing,
2017-06-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | <em>Background</em>. This paper presents a case study of an automated clinical laboratory in a large urban academic teaching hospital in the North of Italy, the Spedali Civili in Brescia, where four laboratories were merged in a unique laboratory through the introduction of laboratory automation. <br /><em>Materials and Methods</em>. The analysis compares the preautomation situation and the new setting from a cost perspective, by considering direct and indirect costs. It also presents an analysis of the turnaround time (TAT). The study considers equipment, staff and indirect costs. <br /><em>Results</em>. The introduction of automation led to a slight increase in equipment costs which is highly compensated by a remarkable decrease in staff costs. Consequently, total costs decreased by 12.55%. The analysis of the TAT shows an improvement of nonemergency exams while emergency exams are still validated within the maximum time imposed by the hospital. <br /><em>Conclusions</em>. The strategy adopted by the management, which was based on re-using the available equipment and staff when merging the pre-existing laboratories, has reached its goal: introducing automation while minimizing the costs. |
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| Item Description: | 2279-9028 2279-9036 10.4081/jphr.2017.881 |