#itlab

EWC2022 Recap: For Those Who Didn’t Make It – And Those Who Did

May 11, 2022

We knew this in-person gathering of the EWC was going to be significant – that’s why we took seven members of our team, including our newest member, Diane Winnemuller. Diane is our strategic business coordinator and has an extensive background in big data. We thought we’d turn the show round-up over to her. She had some significant observations as someone with a “fresh eye” on this specific industry. – Bryan Firestone

Mike Pratt, Bryan Firestone, and Robert Negosian of U.S. HealthTek at the Get Acquainted Reception.

The networking started immediately at the Get Acquainted reception that U.S. HealthTek sponsored, and we were glad to be part of such a big turnout. Everyone was excited to be there face-to-face for the first time in over two years, and as you walked around you could see and hear so many connections and essential conversations that otherwise wouldn’t have taken place.

It turned out that was just the beginning.

Data-Driven Future

The next day started with a breakfast, and a brilliant talk by Robert Michel of The Dark Report. He spoke about the “great resignation” and what that looks like at the 30,000-foot level and what the future of our business in general could look like.

Lala White’s presentation was a highlight.

Next came a highlight: Lâle White’s talk, “Consumers, Retail Pharmacies, and Big Data: New Market Dynamics Poised to Reshape Who Orders and Pays for Clinical Lab Services and Genetic Tests.” Lâle is Executive Chairman and CEO of XIFIN (and also a friend, colleague, and client of U.S. HealthTek). Just one of her topics was the disturbing trend of “healthcare deserts” – smaller, rural communities who are either seeing their regional hospitals and healthcare facilities shut down or never had good access doctors to begin with.

Lâle also touched on the fact that while Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) lab work was trending prior to COVID, the pandemic accelerated it. It all adds up to an increase in demand, and pharmacies are stepping up to meet some basic needs of the consumer beyond getting tested and vaccinated . Unusual solutions are being arrived at too –how about getting your blood work at a local discount store? Maybe a General Dollar one? Then there are how the big boxes like CVS, Walgreens and Walmart are getting deeper into the full-scale healthcare business, sans doctors.

This session (like so many others) centered around data. Lâle pointed out that capturing, harnessing, understanding, and sharing the data is going to be critical to every lab wanting to thrive in this new marketplace. Suppliers now include all the lab startups that became prevalent because of COVID, and now they need to pivot and reinvent themselves. Some are considering a pivot to “boutique lab services,” where consumers can get tested for food allergies, gut flora, genetics, and even nail funguses (hope you’re reading this after lunch). It was especially fascinating to me to learn about companies who are offering lab testing coupled with subscription models in the name of wellness and anti-aging products and solutions. And it’s all D2C.

Diane Winnemuller

Managing the Data Is Mission-Critical

What is the singularly common need for all of this? Managing data effectively and efficiently. I think the whole direction of D2C lab testing is fascinating, and it’s exciting that U.S. HealthTek provides assessments, implementation, and integration solutions for large and small clients (there were some exciting discussions on just that). We’re all about providing labs with a wide array of IT services, including data integration and interfacing, as the need for those won’t go away anytime soon. And we never forget that managing and harnessing data is not only critical to the business side, but also in improving healthcare outcomes in general.

It was interesting sharing notes with my colleague, Mike Pratt. He agreed it was a great show noting that “there was a lot of energy in the room from being in-person.” Compared to the one held in 2019, he added that there was much more willingness to introduce ourselves to each other and have meaningful discussions. People were willing to open the window to their reality and seek new opportunities to collaborate. As he noted, “it had less of a ‘sales’ aura this year and we were united on a mission to create a better healthcare environment overall.”

All of us would add that from an infrastructure perspective, the IT opportunity in general and for U.S. HealthTek specifically has never been greater. Historically, healthcare has viewed IT as a “necessary evil,” as some struggled to transfer from paper charts to EMRs. But look where we are today: cloud-based hosting, with limited down time and maximum up time, disaster recovery, interfacing – all the things that U.S. HealthTek has been implementing for years on every level.

The Future of Lab IT

Another highlight: Ending up at the lunch table with Robert Michel.

Mike had another interesting point: “What’s most exciting is we’ll see product lines for this industry that don’t exist today, but we will create them to meet the demands of this ever-changing industry,” he said. “We all came away from EWC with an eye on the future and excited about the opportunities it’ll bring.”

As for me, I am grateful for the experience of getting to meet so many quality people. There are so many I look forward to staying in touch with, and I hope to grow those new relationships in the years to come. And while I knew it before I went to New Orleans, it was exciting to experience how U.S. HealthTek is just ahead of the game on all of this, on the forefront of the future of labs and the industry’s next exciting chapter.

The 2022 ACLA Annual Meeting: Inspiring & Rejuvenating

March 24, 2022

By Cristy Reiter

When I went to the American Clinical Laboratory Association’s annual meeting, I…well, was unsure of what to expect. Held in Washington, D.C. on March 9^th, for most of us it was our first outing since the pandemic, and the first surprise was that for those who were able to attend, they were glad they did. I sure was. After spending time at the ACLA Annual Conference , I discovered a few behind-the-scenes details that I did not expect to find.

It was inspiring to hear of the tremendous efforts and dedication from ACLA members to fully appreciate their critical role in getting us through the pandemic. None of us had ever been through anything like this in our lifetime, and while healthcare workers and those creating the vaccines were heroically on the front lines, this conference made us realize that lab workers were just as critical. Speaker after speaker, conversation after conversation emphasized our industry’s ability to meet the call to arms – not just in creating the tests but in dealing with supply issues with one hand while fighting misinformation with the other.

The Paradigm Shift

The panel discussions were fascinating – even inspiring.

“This event shined a light on the monumental achievement made possible by the lab industry,” said Mike Pratt, our VP. “From testing the tests, the actual testing itself, and facilitating, labs played a critical role. And while it’s obvious we weren’t prepared for COVID, now that we’ve made it through a national health crisis, we have learned what is necessary to have in place to avoid the challenges that we faced initially and throughout the pandemic. This will allow laboratories to provide testing in future crises without burdening the system so much.” (Mike and founder Bryan Firestone attended the event with me.)

Many opined that there was a paradigm shift in laboratory testing. NBC/MSNBC contributor and former White House Policy Director Dr. Kavita Patel put it all in perspective when she said, “If five years ago you told me that members of my family would know the difference between a PCR test and an antigen one, I’d say you were crazy.” She continued about how the “window has been unlocked and there is a higher understanding of what the labs do in terms of testing.” This is an important point that our team had not realized. Because of the pandemic, most people are now much more aware of laboratory testing and the impact it can have on your health. Mike again: “If there is a silver lining in what the pandemic has wrought, it might be that there is now recognition and understanding of the importance of laboratory testing in the general public and a focus by laboratories and health systems on how to administer lab tests moving forward more quickly and efficiency.”

The sessions Dr. Rey Salerno gave was especially eye-opening.

Highlights of ACLA

Speaker Dr. Ren Salerno of the CDC recognized that their reporting structure was not as efficient as it should be. He spoke about how the sheer volume of COVID data caught them unprepared. The CDC has a Data Modernization initiative in an effort to standardize data sharing across federal and state public health landscapes that is “not just about technology, but also about putting the right people, processes, and policies in place to help us solve problems before they happen and reduce the harm caused by the problems that do happen.”

Patel’s speech was on patient care and policy. She laid out the inefficiency (lunacy?) of insurance companies demanding approval for treatment, even for operations. In many cases the providers must get pre-authorization approval from the patients’ health insurance for the work the doctor deems necessary. The question is, why continue to go through this process when you are approving 99 percent of them in the first place? It’s just adding paperwork and delaying patient care. Reforms are needed.

And if there’s any doubt as to why going to these events in person are so vital, here’s an example of a random act of good fortune: At the Chairman’s Reception, which included sponsors (we were proud to be one), someone “messed up” the seating, and I found myself sitting with Sharon West, Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs of the ACLA, and ARUP’s CMO and President, Tracy George. What strong and dynamic women for me to be seated between! They offered great insight into what was happening from their perspective, but also the conversation veered delightfully onto non-work topics. It was absolutely refreshing and good for the soul.

A lot of ideas are exchanged – and business done – at the cocktail parties.

But Just One Per Lifetime, Please

I went into this meeting thinking everyone would be exhausted from the surge of work that COVID demanded from the lab industry, but instead the enthusiasm was palatable. Mike summed it up best: “The effort and energy suspended by our lab industry during this pandemic was acknowledged and celebrated; we would not be where we are today with falling case numbers and lifting mask mandates without it.”

… and here’s to it not happening again in this lifetime.

We’re Hitting the Road: Let’s Meet

February 25, 2022

By Mike Pratt

As the laboratory business emerges from this pandemic and transitions to an endemic, it’s time to exchange ideas and make plans to be competitive — and the best way to do that is by being in-person at gatherings. That’s why we’re excited to announce that U.S. HealthTek team members are venturing out in-person to three upcoming events. Bryan Firestone, Cristy Reiter, and myself will be heading to American Clinical Laboratory Association in Washington, D.C. for their annual meeting on March 9^th. I am headed to the Executive War College Conference in New Orleans on April 27, where I’ll be joined by U.S. HealthTek’s newest member, Diane Winnemuller, our new Business Consultant. And the two of us will first be attending the fifth annual Clinical Lab 2.0 Workshop, in Chicago, on February 27.

Color me thrilled to get back to a sense of normalcy with face-to-face interactions, where these in-person meetings will be mission-critical to understanding exactly what is happening in this industry.

Clinical Lab 2.0
February 27-March 1, 2022
Pendry Chicago Hotel

I was lucky enough to go to the Santa Fe Foundation Initiative’s Clinical Lab 2.0 meeting in 2019, and it was inspiring to be with others in a forum where we all have a vested interest in pushing the boundaries of what our industry can do. Our business is changing, and those who attend this are looking at what the emerging new model (“2.0”) will look like for patients, providers, and financial stakeholders. Now that COVID is being managed, it’s time for labs to truly get back to business and pursue new opportunities.

VP Sales/Marketing Mike Pratt.

What’s exciting to me about this meeting is that it is a gathering of our top leaders, and I’ll be listening to what their perspective is and what they think is needed to be successful. There is going to be a lot of collaboration on many levels. Helping to communicate and generate value from the tools and advancements we have developed in the last few years will be a priority.

Clinical Lab 2.0 is unique in that they are striving to establish a business model for the value-based health care system clinic lab. Historically for labs, the 1980s and 1990s were about accurately reporting results. Then came the question: can we do it quickly and accurately? Now almost all labs are proficient at that, so next is how can we use this massive amount of data that labs are creating to move the industry forward, and to make it better for the patient. I am really looking forward to being in a room with people who have a vested interest in keeping people healthy and avoiding extraneous cost, all while making labs more efficient.

ACLA
March 9, 2022
The Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington D.C.

The ACLA is a vital organization, working to advance the next generation of health care delivery while also being our industry’s leading advocate with congress, regulatory bodies, other health care organizations, and the public. We’re proud to be long-time members and we’ll be a Silver Sponsor of the conference.

This gathering is geared more towards those in executive leadership positions, and for us it’s an opportunity to gain insight into what has happened during the last two years outside of COVID. We’re looking forward to hearing from policy makers and influencers in Washington, D.C. with the goal of learning what is going to come over the next five, ten, 15 years.

At this one I am looking forward to meeting with other laboratory experts, key policymakers, and leaders in the healthcare community. The agenda looks great – I’m especially intrigued by the “tribute to Laboratory Professionals” event at 9 a.m. The “Patient Care and Policy with Kavita Patel will be a good session, as will the “AI in Health Care: Disrupt but Don’t Be Disruptive.” For more on the agenda, check it out here.

Of course, we’re glad to see the “Networking Breaks” they have worked into each day. We’re looking forward to meeting old and new friends during those and the “unscheduled” ones that will no doubt go into the night and the next day.

Executive War College
April 27-29, 2022
Hyatt Regency Hotel, New Orleans

Bryan and Cristy at the 2019 Executive War Conference – U.S. HealthTek will again sponsor the Grand Reception for this one.

This is perhaps our most important conference as it is the largest, most lab-centric event on the calendar year. Here we learn what is happening in the trenches for lab workers. The break-out sessions are immensely valuable as they allow for everyone to communicate about the latest and greatest technology and efforts. It is a huge opportunity for us at U.S. HealthTek to meet face-to-face and discuss the latest technology advantages and we’re looking forward to those conversations.

As we have been proud to do in past years, we will be sponsoring the welcome reception again this year. But we’ve got a new spin — we’re developing some fun opportunities for attendees to play some games, and win some swag, so stay tuned for that!

This marks the return of the full College, and the list of speakers are impressive. In these sessions, and in the natural networking and conversations that happen at these events, innovative strategies and ideas for lab and pathology groups to step up with state-of-the-art diagnostic services and expanding market share will be discussed.

Let’s Meet!

To anyone going to any or all of these, I’d love to meet up for a quick hello, a coffee or a meeting at your convenience. Drop me an email at mpratt@ushealthtek.com, or keep an eye out for any of us on the team. We’ll be there in person at the sponsored Welcome Reception, and throughout the entire event. We want to hear from you, because listening to other professionals in this business is how we can better serve the industry. And that is what we’re here to do.

Growing a Business: A Long-Term Strategy

January 26, 2022

By Bryan Firestone

Two guys in a garage. Limited resources, experience, and services. Two decades later, we are a team of over 30 spread out all over the country offering full services and turnkey products to labs and hospitals of all shapes and sizes. As we approach our 20^th year as an IT lab consulting business, this felt like a good opportunity to share our experiences and learnings from steadily growing a startup into a full-fledged company 20 years later.

We humbly began with two of us working out of our home in 2003. Back then it was called Northwest Consulting, and we were helping smaller labs with building interfaces and demographic bridges. Through the early years, I had some rough patches and suffered a “bad divorce” with the original partner but survived and thrived. Key to the journey was Cristy Reiter (CEO) joining in 2010 and Robert Negosian (COO) joining two years later. It was Cristy who rebranded us as U.S. HealthTek.

Cristy joined in 2010, rebranding the company “U.S. HealthTek.”

Adaptability Is Key

Something that I’ve seen from the earliest days is still a constant: a lab starts off small and develops into a midsized business with all their IT elements from their former, smaller self. We still get calls from those who know they need to step up their game to be competitive but aren’t sure of where to go to find the products and services to get to the next level. While we see some hesitancy in making the necessary investments for a bigger structural foundation, they are motivated by realizing they can’t afford the outages from an ill-equipped, underperforming IT system. You begin with good personnel on staff, and as the company grows, it tends to take on more work with less knowledge and experience to keep up. That’s where we found our niche.

In the years of serving these types of clients, we have gotten better at diagnosing the situation, augmenting the staff, restructuring the IT department, and/or preparing the company for future growth five-plus years down line. Thanks to two decades of experience, we’ve learned to come in and hit the ground running. Others running service-businesses like ours can agree that it doesn’t take a client long to see and appreciate the swift impact an experienced team can make.

Robert joined in 2012 – he’s been instrumental to the company’s success.

One thing we found was critical to growth, both for us and our clients over the years, is the acceptance of new technology. The culture of the laboratory industry has tended to be on the conservative side, especially in relation to new IT-related technology. Back when we started in 2003, 50% of doctors’ offices didn’t have internet – the “technology” of choice had upgraded from dot matrix printers and fax machines to fancy laser printers. Fast forward to today, and a comparable trend is being embraced much more quickly by competitive businesses: the trend is pushing that data from an in-house data center up into the cloud. Related, we’re seeing a “changing of the guard” for managers/C-Suite executives who have grown up with technology in a way that the older generation didn’t (alas I am in the latter group as I can still remember when phones didn’t fit in your pocket). These new leaders are much quicker to be open to high-tech advancements that can make labs more efficient, more productive, and are more accepting of the technologies that can get them there.

Smart, Controlled Growth

In many ways, our company followed the normal business growth stages like many of the laboratories we serve, and we weren’t afraid to take on new challenges. Starting off as a “mom-and-pop,” we added another person part-time. An early boost was taking on an assignment we got from a referral not for interfacing work, but to rebuild a pathology practice infrastructure, which we accomplished. It broadened what was in our toolbox and opened up more doors for future growth.

An aspect of that growth that I’m also proud of is that it’s all been from referrals. We have been consistent in focusing on quality and making sure the customer is satisfied. Related, we don’t say yes to every assignment. If we can’t bring value to the client, if we can’t make a significant difference in their operations, we politely turn it down. Is this hard to do? You bet it is. It goes against the instincts of saying yes to everything and trying to make it work. But that’s always been our mindset, because just being “okay” is not an option (it’s also not fun). For us, this has been, and continues to be, a cornerstone of our success.

If at First You Don’t Succeed…

Back in 2003, I didn’t have the great expectations that our efforts would take me to where we are today; mainly because while I was drawn to having a consulting company, this was not the first! There were two other companies I had before U.S. HealthTek that crashed and burned before they got off the runway. Many of you who have had similar journeys in this business will likely agree with these two points, and if you’re just starting out, keep these in mind: one, that this is a process of trial and error, and two, if you don’t try, it for sure won’t happen.

The Next 20 Years

As we approach our 20^th anniversary of serving this industry, we will continue to follow the formula that has brought us success so far. I’m proud to say that we are known as the experts in this field, and our high-caliber resources and the passion and commitment of our people is not just a benefit to our clients, but it helps us continue to grow and improve the company for the long haul. What’s coming in the next 20 years? I don’t want to give away any secrets, but what I’m most excited about is an expansion of our product lines, created specifically for our core small-to-medium lab niche customers. Our goal for the next 20 is to keep doing what we’re good at, but to do it even better. Stay tuned.

Return to Executive War College 2021: More Important Than Ever

July 27, 2021

By Bryan Firestone

We’re in. Are you?

On November 2-3, we will be in San Antonio for the in-person meeting, greeting, networking, and learning opportunities that comes with each Executive War College conference. I urge you to register today and plan on joining us because frankly, the stakes are too high to miss this one. That’s why we quickly signed on as one of its sponsors.

Post-Pandemic Success

We’ve long been supporters of this gathering, but there is a sense of urgency for this year’s meeting. The theme is mission-critical: “Preparing Your Clinical Laboratory and Pathology Group for Post-Pandemic Success.” We’ve covered this topic several times in the U.S. HealthTek blog, but here, through panel discussions and seminars, laboratory and pathology managers and trend experts will explore what the post-pandemic world might look like. You will want a peek.

Topics to be covered include:

Understanding the changes to the U.S. healthcare system triggered by the pandemic;
Exploring new opportunities for labs and pathology groups (our “5 Ways to Be Prepared” article might help as well); and
Discovering opportunities that can generate new sources of revenue.

Changes Accelerated by the Pandemic

Also, to be explored are several trends that began in the Before Times, which the pandemic accelerated. One I’ve written about advocates for labs to prepare for a move toward a Direct-to-Consumer Model. Then there is the trend of working remotely – something I’ve promoted for decades (you’ll find an example of how successful this can be in “Virtual CIO Success Stories”). Finally, as the younger generation grows into adulthood, we certainly saw that the acceptance of telehealth and virtual doctor visits were trending. The pandemic has really shifted this movement into overdrive.

All these transformations are going on now, and the labs that can pivot for these changes will be the more successful and profitable ones.

Cristy and myself on the way to the U.S. HealthTek sponsored Grand Reception at the last Executive War Conference.

Critical Networking Opportunities

As I write, Robert Michel of the Dark Report and the rest of the team at the Executive War College are still putting together the full agenda. He writes: “you can count on us to schedule sessions and speakers from those labs that have identified the new needs of physicians, patients, and hospitals and are now delivering relevant lab testing services while generating new sources of revenue. We are gathering the best and brightest in our profession so that you get as much value from networking opportunities as you do from the top-flight sessions and speakers.”

Believe it.

Yet one aspect will remain the same: The networking. The casual conversations that happen in line for coffee and the meeting person-to-person are going to be especially refreshing and professionally satisfying. But it won’t be completely COVID-less, as following CDC directives will mean it’s a smaller gathering than what typically happens.

Oh, and it’s held at the Hyatt Riverwalk Hotel, which is a great location. We’ll be trying to fit in at least one walk along the river. I hope you’ll join us for all of it.

Clinical Lab Services Market Growth: 5 Ways to Be Prepared

April 29, 2021

By Bryan Firestone

Our industry is slated for growth, and a lot of it. PR Newswire reports that the global clinical lab services market will be seeing exponential growth through to at least 2025. I do not have to look any further than my inbox to confirm that we as an industry are already well on our way to a busier future.

There are several reasons for this, including lab services technical advancements, spread of infectious ailments, and, as we’ve written about, more labs are becoming more DTC forward-facing. More specifically, the PRN article cites the increase in our geriatric population, a group that typically has weaker immune systems, and “this will also affect the clinical laboratory services market on positive grounds.”

Another report published this past February from Grand View Research predicts growth as well: “The global clinical laboratory service market size was valued at $200.3 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% from 2021 to 2028.” They point to the increase of chronic diseases and “growing demand for early diagnostics tests which are expected to be high impact-rendering drivers for market growth.” This is something we are experiencing firsthand: technology is fueling growth, including the demand for the early detection of diseases.

Some may have mixed feelings about this, but I’m curious about the fact that at least a portion of growth won’t exactly be organic, as marketing firms are “engaged in introducing new services to serve the unmet demand of patients.” I’ve always seen our industry as a whole to respond pretty quickly to any new needs from patients without a marketing firm’s involvement, but let’s see how that pans out.

Finally, let’s throw in two more points that are very real. The first is the increasing use of at-home testing kits:

The clinical chemistry segment dominated the market for clinical laboratory services and accounted for the largest revenue share of 51.5% in 2020, owing to the presence of numerous clinical chemistry tests, the introduction of new technologies, alternative sampling methods, and the emergence of point-of-care testing methods.

The second is toxicology testing:

… the toxicology testing services segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. Toxicology testing is in high demand as most of the smaller and/or startup laboratories find toxicology screening clinically and financially feasible. In addition, an increase in the launch of new consumables that provide improved solutions to make drug testing easy, accurate, and fast is expected to boost the market for clinical laboratory services.

There are other variables, and exactly where it all takes us remains to be seen, but it is indisputable that growth is happening. So now the question for the individual lab becomes, what can you do today to be able to capture the market expansion that is coming?

There are five key requests we’re seeing, and any of them, or combination of them, will prepare your IT operations to be ready to grow with the market.

Develop a Plan for Your Future. As this is likely going to lead to an investment — and possibly a sizable one — let’s look at developing a 5-10 year plan. No crystal ball needed; just professionals with balanced, deep experiences who know to ask questions and listen rather than presume anything about your organization. Then, chart out the vision and get everyone on the same page.
IT Assessment. The second step is to do an assessment of your IT configuration, staff, and IT leadership. Since this is the building block to everything that follows, we recommend an outside set of eyes. You want a team removed from the inner dynamics of your corporate culture, but one that can also become part of the team. A wider objective perspective is really critical at this point.
Infrastructure Assessment. What systems are you using? What are the inefficiencies, and how can they be improved? Aspects of IT infrastructure, personnel, training, physical upgrade, and communication both internally and externally need to be put under a microscope.
Integration/Interface Assessment. Technology and best practices provide many tools to have your integrations/interfaces performing at a fast, accurate level. The question is really to figure out what the best approach is for each lab. Testing and assessing how different IT aspects of your organization are communicating (or in some cases, not communicating!) is something that needs to be done periodically anyway, but especially when planning and preparing for growth. Part of this definitely includes the local server versus cloud conversation.
Virtual CIO Assessment. So often we see growth hampered by budget realities, and that certainly happens with the need of executive personal. We’re seeing many labs turn to a Virtual CIO as a solution. Virtual CIOs offer the experience and insight of a seasoned professional at a fraction of the cost of hiring that personnel in-house.

Many labs are already reacting quickly by increasing their IT investments and getting ready for expansion, and we encourage everyone to prepare now. It’s a remarkable, exciting time for our industry and I look forward to helping our partners ride this coming wave of growth. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an inbox to attend to ….

Moving Your Lab to a DTC Model: User-Friendly Reports

March 3, 2021

By Bryan Firestone

Could your lab end up needing a forward-facing employee who deals directly with patients? I say it’s likely; here’s why. What we’ve seen with COVID testing is a sudden emphasis on patient-directed orders. Patients are going directly to a testing facility, bypassing their physician. Here at U.S. HealthTek, we’ve seen a significant uptick in labs asking for patient-friendly portals. We’ve gotten involved as middlemen in a way, being proxy testing brokers. This has opened up possibilities and begs the question: Will this trend carry through with other types of testing? And if our customer base is fundamentally changing, what does that mean for our way of doing business?

This may be the driving force for us as an industry to address an issue I’ve been thinking about for a decade: Making lab reports more accessible to all – including “end users.” Coincidently, I recently ran across an article in WIRED I had saved from years ago that asked the question that so many of us have asked: Why are lab reports so hard to read? Lab reports are sometimes difficult to understand even for those working in medical offices, so maybe now is the time for a serious redesign. From the article:

The typical blood test report is an exercise in obfuscation, a document that needs to be translated by a lab technician or physician, and that’s if you somehow manage to see a copy of your results. In many US states, it’s illegal for a laboratory to send test results directly to a patient—a regulatory puzzle that leads some labs to simply deny direct results to any customer, anywhere. The blood may be yours—but the information it contains is not.

[Note: It is no longer illegal anywhere. In 2014 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services took action to provide patients direct access to the patient’s completed lab tests reports in order “to empower patients to be informed partners with their health care providers.” Labs can and have been fined for not doing so (see page 8 of the December 2020 issue of the G2 Intelligence report). Yet the vast majority of patients don’t think to ask. Now that they are used to patient-direct lab experiences, I think they will.]

Color and Diagrams

As just one example, I see patients who want information about their cholesterol (such as their Complete Blood Count, etc.) being more comfortable going directly to a lab. And those tests ordered from a doctor’s visit? The patient will be more willing and motivated to take them home and read them – and understand them – without a doctor’s interpretation. Imagine a scenario where after the doctor’s visit, the doctor sends the patient to the lab, and then the lab sends the results directly to the patient. This could eliminate the need for a follow-up visit.

The article in WIRED showed examples from a couple of the big labs, and they had some simple, excellent ideas. These included using color, and adopting a familiar green-yellow-red palette to make it easier to identify what needs immediate attention. And those numbers that fill these reports usually have no context. Having reports that contain qualitative interpretations of the data, showing how low or high something is, would be easy enough to do. WIRED goes on to advocate keeping it simple with a single page overview, keeping it relevant with clear call-to-actions, and by including charts.

Over the years I’ve used these ideas and some of my own mock-ups to show how lab reports could be designed. I brought in some physicians to look at them to say what they liked and didn’t like. This was years ago, and it was really still a taboo subject in the sense that many physicians were weary of the whole idea. Understandably, they had concerns about patients correctly reading a lab report and managing their own health without physician assistance. I completely respect that, but I do think overall the trend for patients to go directly to labs for matter is inevitable and the onus is on us to find a way to present the data in a consumer-friendly format.

Maybe the reports with a series of gauges – like odometers, fuel and temperature gauges like a car dashboard. Or even a simpler approach like our example here. The use of color is powerful, and at a glance, with no explanation, a patient can understand it. Graphics like that are so much more meaningful than a number.

There are increasing examples of this approach being used by labs, though it could be taken further and be a more accepted practice. More than ever before, rethinking how information is reported, and formatting it so that they are so clear that little-to-no explanation is needed, is going to be something that patients come to expect. Labs that get ahead of this curve will have a clear advantage.

Looking Ahead to 2021: Trends During and After the Pandemic

January 26, 2021

By Bryan Firestone

I wish I had a crystal ball.

That I don’t has never been more obvious than when I reviewed what I wrote last January in Looking Ahead at 2020 – 6 Ways to Prepare for Disruption. Funny, “worldwide pandemic” wasn’t mentioned (though I guess I get a point for “disruption”?).

For our industry, the health crisis proved to be the boom in business nobody wanted, but we rose to its challenges nonetheless. As testing for COVID quickly ramped up, that typical ebb and flow of business that a lab navigates through during a normal year went to “11” and stayed there. Our focus here at U.S. HealthTek has always been to keep up with the demand, and our clients kept us busy. We saw a large number of start-up labs appear to meet the demands of COVID testing. We also noticed that the extra revenue labs brought in made it possible for them to address long-simmering IT needs and upgrades they had put off. In other instances, some who had started 2020 with a list of IT “to-do’s” shelved them earlier in the year. Now we’re seeing that those projects are definitely thawing, and I venture to guess there will be a significant uptick as labs re-engage in any and all work they had planned on for 2020. All of this adds up to a demand for experienced, quality IT professionals, and so we are preparing for a busy year.

Start-Ups

To those start-ups doing just COVID testing and to those labs who pivoted to making it their primary work: you may want to consider doing some math. If we do vaccinate 100 million in the first 100 days of the Biden administration, that’ll be almost 30 percent of the population. After another three or four months from that, those numbers increase further. Hopefully by summer we’ll be seeing a reduction of cases – and related, testing will inevitably decline. Labs in general, especially those start-ups, will definitely need to diversify to keep up in a market that is crowded already. Preparing for that now is advised.

The Cloud

The pandemic didn’t really slow the industry’s acceptance of cloud-based technology. In all the work with labs we’ve done this year, all but one moved their data to the cloud. The technology and security the cloud offers is significant. With it, the lab is able to avoid the expensive maintenance an onsite system requires. We’ve been especially successful moving labs to this because of our expertise, which allows us to make sure that it’s done right. Another development in this area is that, in addition to the big three services (AWS, Microsoft, and Google), there have been additional, smaller private cloud data centers popping up, though for us it’s not a direction we’ve taken clients yet. But watch for that option to grow.

Owning the Data

Another trend that has benefited our clients is the prospect of a lab owning their own data. Our clients see the clear advantage of this partnership as opposed to relying on a third-party vendor who “manages” their data and thus also ends up owning it. More professionals in the industry have become aware of how valuable this data is. Yes, we’re vertical service providers, and our offerings are broad. We do anything and everything from infrastructure, project management, staff management, revenue recognition, strategic initiatives and more – a complete spectrum of functions and services. But we stop at owning data. We know labs need to be agile and move quickly, be able to maintain quality, and take a long-term approach to their business. Key to that is owning your own data, and current and new clients really get that now more than ever, appreciating our partnership-based approach in ensuring it happens.

CRM

One more point to review from last year: fulCRM, our CRM solution. We have been incorporating it into our clients’ labs, and there is a lot of interest in it throughout the industry. (If you haven’t seen our video on it, it’s here.) The system, designed by our team to be lab-specific and less expensive than other solutions, facilitates customer loyalty and satisfaction in a simple, direct, effective way. Like all our products and services, we’re looking at further improvements. Internally we’re thinking of adding a supply ordering feature, and currently getting feedback on that idea. As 2021 rolls in and COVID rolls out with it, labs are going to need to be more competitive, and our fulCRM certainly offers an edge.

There is one more aspect to the coming year I’ve got my eye on – but it’s such a big topic, I’m saving it for next month’s article: patient-directed lab orders. Has COVID “trained” patients to bypass doctors and go straight to the lab? Stayed tuned for that. Meanwhile, here’s to a healthy, thriving 2021.

Software Development Services Doesn’t Have to Be Scary Part II

November 18, 2020

By Robert Negosian

Last month Bryan Firestone talked about the “scary” parts of software development for labs. I’m going to go a little deeper and offer a case study, but I do want to re-iterate one of his key points: Often we see labs immediately assume that they need to build software from scratch. My first job with a new client is to explore off-the-shelf solutions first, which is always the more inexpensive route to go, even when they need to be customized a bit. After exploring that and determining that something does need to be built, it’s my job to make sure it’s not only built well but functions in all the ways needed – including being able to handle future, unanticipated situations.

My first question to every client: What is the mission critical function of your operation? What are your needs? What systems are already available? We’re often involved with projects where the client has a specific problem to solve, and it’s usually an operational issue involving IT. There are operational workloads to consider, as well as what systems have to be implemented. The choice to build it or buy it impacts a client’s long-term needs.

Often a client will have it in their head that they want a brand-new system. If they’re right, and the need is pointing toward building something specific just for them, then we have to explore the “Is it worth it?” question. Exploring other ways to achieve the same goals might not only lead to significant savings, but result in better, more efficient processes. Of course, sometimes we have to blast through the “But we’ve always done it this way!” roadblock.

Tech is not a hobby to me. So while I’m a technical guy who knows code, I’m coming at it all from a business perspective. For example, I’m going to question building a $1 million new custom system to make $1.5 million. That’s not enough ROI for me. It needs to make $10 million to make sense. As my associate Mike Pratt likes to say, a lot of clients think they know what they want, but sometimes we need to bring them back to earth and really dig into what the needs of the lab are, and determine the best solutions for those needs.

Off the Shelf v. Custom

Off-the-shelf solutions usually require some configurations. Salesforce, for example, was originally known as a highly customizable CRM platform. It has a foundational layer that allows one to customize and build workflows and store huge amounts of data. They have become the giant they are because they realized the platform could be used in a broad array of business applications. So they pushed out their underlying technology as the product with the idea that any industry can adapt it to their needs.

But that’s just one idea we might bring to the table. The most important value U.S. HealthTek provides from my viewpoint is that we’re not tied to any one technology. We come with an open mind and a deep understanding of all the tools available. It’s a benefit because some consultants are married to specific software, and I’ve seen situations that rapidly devolve into what can only be described as trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

As Bryan wrote last month, the number one reason to build a custom software system is when it offers proprietary advantages over your competition. So once U.S. HealthTek and the client decide to go the custom software route, we take all the precautions to ensure its success. For example, I’m always on the lookout for “scope creep.” This is when a builder starts on a two-story house and half-way through, the owner decides she wants a walk-out basement. Well, the foundation has already been poured, and now things have to be torn up. Any “Oh, by the way we need it to do this” after the fact runs up the cost and complicates the goal and the deadline. We ask all the right questions up-front to avoid having to tear up your foundation.

Case Study

If I’m told by a client that I need to capture basic data from patients like names, dates of birth, etc. – well, there are many options available for that situation. But if it also involves validating a driver’s license and social security number, then the government is involved, making it a more complex situation.

We had one client who had a Third Party Administrator (TPA) that handled all transactions manually. Associates would make calls to businesses, who would then send manual requisitions to another vendor. Sound like a big logistical nightmare? It was. The emails that followed … the faxes! So our client had the idea to create a portal that would basically automate all of this. Building it internally wasn’t feasible, and there was nothing off the shelf for their needs. But there were good reasons to go custom on this solution, and we were glad they came to us.

It took a year for us to complete the portal, but when it was done, it was completely automized for their specific needs. And it got great results, making them a leader in the country when it comes to TPA. The initial costs were not insignificant, but that is where they decided to invest their money. ROI? It saved them a ton of manual labor (and costs associated with it) and differentiated them from their competitors. Today they are handling 10 times the amount of business as they were before.

Business Before Building

I tell people I’m not necessarily an applications developer – I’m a logistical guy who can develop and implement custom software. I figure out the core of the problem, and determine whether it needs a hammer or a nail gun. Code is not a means to an end. It’s just a tool to solve a problem. So before going down this road – one that has many forks – we recommend that when you talk to your team, you see if there are off-the-shelf solutions, and if a custom software development is the best road to take, make sure you have the right people, the right tools, and a clear goal. Then it doesn’t have to be scary at all.

Oh, the Horror! (J/K: Software Development Doesn’t Have to Be Scary!)

October 30, 2020

By Bryan Firestone

What scares you the most about adapting new technology for your business? Scope creep, high costs, or uncertainty about future scaling might be a few fears that send a shiver down a manager’s spine. But your business is an organic entity that is evolving, growing, and potentially adapting from one business segment to another. That impacts the IT component of your business, and you don’t want it to eventually become part of the problem and not the solution. There might be a service you don’t have, or a platform that needs to be run more efficiently – any number of things. Sometimes an in-house IT professional will pitch building it internally from scratch. But when it comes to making the decision, the truth is that many CFOs and CEOs (understandably) don’t always know a lot about IT; in fact, sometimes they are downright scared of it!

What we see over and over again is a system built in-house that works pretty well – for a while. But as the lab grows, the system becomes clunky and outdated. Bugs need to be fixed, maintenance releases are required, and documentation all needs to be kept up with. Then many times, users adapt/accommodate the system through manual workaround processes that further slows things down. Future needs might not have been considered or maybe it was all done on a shoe-string budget. So now it’s taking a lot of time and money to maintain, and it appears that the only option is to replace it by building a custom software solution … or is that the only option?

To Build or Not to Build?

At U.S. HealthTek, a lot of what we do is building customized software solutions, so my next question might surprise you: Is there a product out there that already exists that can fit your need? Is there something “off-the-shelf” to save you time and money? If so, how does that measure up to the potential advantages of a custom-built solution? There are more options out there than you might realize, and it’s important to think outside the box of the lab world. Salesforce, for example, originally created as a CRM solution for industries, is a powerful automation and analytics platform that can be adapted for many uses, including applications and services in our lab industry.

We recommend that you look at building custom software only if it is determined that you have some kind of special need that’s not being met, or if that build will give you a specific competitive advantage; for example, a proprietary service or tool that will give you an edge over your competitors. That’s where you should spend your money in software development.

But by no means should you start there. Be sure you work with an experienced consultant who can explore all options, both internally and externally, to be sure you’re focusing your money and effort in the right direction. Part of our process is listening and fully understanding the problem that needs to be solved. If there’s an easier solution, we’ll suggest it. If not, we’ll discuss building a software solution in-house and what that means for your organization.

Friends, not Foes

In looking at a custom software solution, some think that they are going to build a product to take care of all their needs. Others think it won’t cost much money just to try.

Both are wrong.

It is human nature to be protective – even defensive – of one’s work. So it’s understandable when an internal IT team isn’t keen on outside consultants because they believe they can, and should, handle anything. At the same time, those in the C-Suite see that as a roadblock holding back business and feel an outside consulting team will make it better.

Both are right.

One reason to consider outside consultants is that often internal IT staffers are focused on a specific scope of view. They typically spend a lot of their time putting out fires, looking at what isn’t running well at that moment and fixing it to get through the week. And at no fault of theirs, they don’t always know what they don’t know. We will come into a situation like that with a clear understanding of “internal” (them) and “external” (us). The internal team knows the specifics better than anyone else. But we bring an outsider’s perspective, with experiences at many different companies, each with their own specific problems, challenges, and potential solutions. One key to success is attitude: We don’t walk in with all the answers. We just walk in with questions. Our goal is to quickly develop a working relationship with those who have been in the trenches and find solutions together. We leave having made friends.

What Is the ROI?

Buying or implementing solutions that already exist has clear advantages. It will always cost more to support your own software; but by buying off-the-shelf you’re putting support in someone else’s hands. However, if your plans are to develop something that adds clear value for your clients, that’s a smart place to put your money. Maybe it’s a new way of delivering custom reporting, a new customer portal that makes access to data easier and quicker, or a solution that’s improving efficiencies and resulting in faster turnaround times. So really the question becomes this: Is what you’re building providing additional value to your clients?

For software development, we recommend spending money that assures a strong ROI. To achieve that goal, we’ll do the analysis and create the specifications. We’ll project the scale of the business needs three to five years into the future. And know that we’ve seen it all – labs doing $5 million a year, others doing $1 billion a year – and everything in-between. We know how to focus on the immediate need and how to plan for the long run.

The IT lab is a crazy-complex world. There are a thousand moving parts, and not one piece of software can do everything. So, get as much information from as many sources as possible, and above all, be sure to work with a team that isn’t too quick to spend your money! And if there’s one person who comes at all of this first from the business perspective and secondly (and I mean a distant second) as an Information Technology expert, it’s our own Robert Negosian. Robert is as smart as he is blunt – but there’s nothing scary about him. He’s going to continue this conversation in the next blog, diving deeper and talking case studies. So stay tuned.