Conexiant
Login
  • The Analytical Scientist
  • The Cannabis Scientist
  • The Medicine Maker
  • The Ophthalmologist
  • The Pathologist
  • The Traditional Scientist
The Pathologist
  • Explore Pathology

    Explore

    • Latest
    • Insights
    • Case Studies
    • Opinion & Personal Narratives
    • Research & Innovations
    • Product Profiles

    Featured Topics

    • Molecular Pathology
    • Infectious Disease
    • Digital Pathology

    Issues

    • Latest Issue
    • Archive
  • Subspecialties
    • Oncology
    • Histology
    • Cytology
    • Hematology
    • Endocrinology
    • Neurology
    • Microbiology & Immunology
    • Forensics
    • Pathologists' Assistants
  • Training & Education

    Career Development

    • Professional Development
    • Career Pathways
    • Workforce Trends

    Educational Resources

    • Guidelines & Recommendations
    • App Notes

    Events

    • Webinars
    • Live Events
  • Events
    • Live Events
    • Webinars
  • Profiles & Community

    People & Profiles

    • Power List
    • Voices in the Community
    • Authors & Contributors
  • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
Subscribe
Subscribe

False

The Pathologist / Issues / 2022 / Sep / The New Decentralization Trend
Laboratory management Clinical care Profession

The New Decentralization Trend

How hospital systems benefit from core diagnostic labs

By Kendal Jensen 09/21/2022 3 min read

Share

For decades, hospitals have followed a centralization model for their clinical testing needs. Thanks to extensive outsourcing, it’s now routine to send out samples to reference labs for diagnostic testing. But this has come at a cost – results take longer and patient care can suffer because of it.

In the clinical laboratory community, we are finally reversing this trend in a move that allows us to serve our patients and our institutions better than before. Particularly at healthcare systems with multiple hospitals and clinics, administrators and clinical care teams are beginning to view core laboratories as a major asset. I have seen this decentralization trend at numerous healthcare systems across the country and have participated in it at two different hospital networks. At the Sharp Healthcare Copley Laboratory, for example, we perform a large proportion of testing needs for our system. Our team of pathologists includes both general and specialized pathologists. Together, we have created a boutique genetics laboratory that builds on our expertise in women’s and prenatal health, microbiology, and oncology, deploying both commercially available and laboratory-developed tests. We use a hybrid of in-house and outsourced testing to maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses.

Decentralization happens best when health systems with multiple hospitals use one core lab and one pathology department to bring better efficiencies, talent, pricing contracts, and clinical care to their patients and health systems. In this model, each hospital retains key testing, such as stat tests. Repatriation happens at the core laboratory. Core labs can repatriate many – sometimes even most – test orders and can expand or trim down pathology services as appropriate. Testing in-house means that the laboratory and the pathologists can retain the testing data, which not only helps with patient management, but also makes it easier to evaluate the overall costs and value of the testing. Our laboratory chose to bring in prenatal testing, such as spinal muscular atrophy screening by fragment analysis, and saw a significant improvement in turnaround time and savings to the system.

A laboratory’s ability to build its own test menu is invaluable. This way, each laboratory can prioritize the perceived benefit for individual tests and test classes by choosing between sending out and processing in-house. Without the core facility, there are no alternatives to send-out testing for the vast majority of the diagnostic menu, which carries its own risks. In addition, the core lab team’s expertise provides invaluable consultation services to healthcare providers, helping them to select the right tests and interpret the results.

Experience has shown that many laboratories are resourceful when responding to emergency situations such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in which local labs have been invaluable to their communities. This resourcefulness is ideally suited to responding to regional needs in a way that reference labs cannot.

For pathologists looking to establish core laboratory testing, I recommend focusing on the interests and talents of your team members. Diverse talent within your team allows you to respond to your healthcare system’s needs. Our laboratory chose to grow into molecular pathology; others may grow into cytogenetics, flow cytometry, or something completely different. Your team’s formation is your growth opportunity. If you focus on your team and your system’s needs, it should be easy to spot the opportunities that are right for your patient population and clinical care partners.

Newsletters

Receive the latest pathology news, personalities, education, and career development – weekly to your inbox.

Newsletter Signup Image

About the Author(s)

Kendal Jensen

Director of Molecular Pathology, Sharp Healthcare, San Diego, California, USA.

More Articles by Kendal Jensen

Explore More in Pathology

Dive deeper into the world of pathology. Explore the latest articles, case studies, expert insights, and groundbreaking research.

False

Advertisement

Recommended

False

Related Content

Medicare Pathology Payments in 2021
Laboratory management
Medicare Pathology Payments in 2021

January 26, 2024

1 min read

A national Medicare report extract for pathologists reveals where payments went in the US in 2021

R-Tracker: The First of Its Kind
Laboratory management
R-Tracker: The First of Its Kind

December 29, 2021

1 min read

Milestone is committed to enhancing patient safety with a new disruptive technology

The Pathologist’s 2016 Power List
Laboratory management
The Pathologist’s 2016 Power List

October 18, 2016

1 min read

Let’s celebrate the successes of our field by shining a spotlight on the next generation.

The Times They Are A-Changin’
Laboratory management
The Times They Are A-Changin’

October 21, 2016

1 min read

Or at least I hope they are, but I need your help…

False

The Pathologist
Subscribe

About

  • About Us
  • Work at Conexiant Europe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 Texere Publishing Limited (trading as Conexiant), with registered number 08113419 whose registered office is at Booths No. 1, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, England, WA16 8GS.