Introduction
Causes of Slow TAT
Interviewing some of the students who have worked in medical laboratories as interns provided some insight into the reasons of slow TATs. One reason that appeared to be common was errors arising from other departments. Sometimes, clerical errors such as incorrect labeling of specimens lead to wrong tests being done on patients. Other times nurses bring specimens from an unacceptable source for ordered tests and drop them off in the laboratory without letting the staff know. Correcting such a mistake requires the nurse to return to the laboratory and fill out a form which results in delays in TATs.
Another factor that affects TATs is poor departmental communication. Sometimes, the laboratory technicians do not have patients’ medical history yet there is certain information that could eliminate some possibilities and significantly improve TATs. For example, there are certain medication and steroids that cause an antibody screening to come back positive. Knowing if a patient is taking any of them can help the technician explain the positive results.
Finally, there are protocols such as quality control and STAT test that also affect TATs. In a blood bank, reagents have to be checked daily and the results put in a computer system before the system can allow a technician to input the results of a test done using those reagents. Using a reagent rack that has not passed the quality control will not allow the technician to put in the results until the reagents are checked and the results put in the system which can tremendously increase TATs. Sometimes a STAT specimen is brought into the lab for testing. When this happens, the laboratory staff have to stop all other tests and give the STAT specimen priority. This significantly affects the TATs of non-STAT specimens that were being tested at the time.
Effects of Delayed TATs
Delays in TATs have a negative impact on patient care. For example, delayed TAT for procalcitonin when a patient has sepsis could result in the patient not getting the extra antibiotics required. If the patient is getting better and the TAT is prolonged may result in the patient not getting off the antibiotics soon enough and may lead to microbial resistance. Delays in TATs also negatively affect staff morale as doctors rely on fast TATs to determine diagnosis and treatment of their patients (Goswami and Singh 378). Prolonged TATs also increases the expenditure incurred by the hospital exchequer because it will lead to late discharge of patients and also increase the frequency of duplicate samples sent to hospitals’ laboratories.
Improving TATs
Conclusion
There are several factors such as poor communication, errors, and protocols that increase TATs. However, there is a need to improve TATs as they can significantly affect patient health care, staff morale, and hospital bottom line. This improvement can be done through efficient staff training, improving communication between departments, proper time management, and development of better techniques.
Works cited
Goswami, Binita, and Bhawna Singh. “Turn Around Time (TAT) as a Benchmark of Laboratory Performance.” Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, vol. 25, no. 4, 14 Sept. 2010, pp. 376–379, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12291-010-0056-4, 10.1007/s12291-010-0056-4. Accessed 31 Aug. 2016.
