Many hospital blood banks and blood centers are still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and are looking for ways to optimize their services and solidify their bottom lines. Some consider adding specialized laboratory services to their facilities. However, complex assays require qualified staff and expensive equipment and reagents.
It’s no wonder, then, that many organizations choose to outsource instead.
If your facility is looking to increase efficiency this year, you may want to consider leveraging another company’s resources to complete some or all of your specialized laboratory tests.
3 Benefits of Outsourcing Your Lab Testing Services
1. Advanced Testing
A third-party reference lab can give you access to specialty tests that your hospital blood bank or blood center can’t currently run on its own. For example, an outsourcing provider may offer HLA testing, antibody titrations, and more.
Providing this level of advanced testing can help set your facility apart from the rest without all the time and resources needed to bring these services in-house.
2. Staffing & Expertise
From home health aides to nurse practitioners, many healthcare disciplines have experienced staffing shortages in recent years. Laboratory technologists are no exception.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 335,700 medical and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians employed in the United States in 2016. The BLS projects that the U.S. will need a 13% average increase in medical laboratory technologists and technicians over the next four years to meet demand. That’s nearly double the underlying 7% average increase across all occupations.
Due to these shortages, it can be difficult for blood banks to find technologists, let alone those trained and qualified individuals to run highly specialized tests like hemolytic anemia investigation and blood group genotyping.
Further, many hospital blood banks and blood centers already find it challenging to comply with all regulations and maintain the needed competency of their staff, especially for infrequently performed assays.
That’s where outsourcing can help. This approach allows you to leverage a team of highly qualified technologists without recruiting or training your own.
3. Cost Efficiency
While staffing is a concern, the equipment and reagents needed to run highly specialized testing like genomics testing are also expensive to purchase and maintain. Plus, in many cases, facilities don’t run enough of a specific type of test to justify the cost of paying for the in-house technologists or specialized equipment needed to offer it.
By outsourcing, your hospital blood bank or blood center can continue to offer advanced testing while also improving cost efficiency.
New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) is among the largest community-based independent blood centers across the globe and has gained a solid reputation as a leader in associated laboratory services. Along with its operating divisions, Community Blood Center of Kansas City, Missouri (CBC), Innovative Blood Resources (IBR), Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD), and Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC), NYBCe collects about 4,000 units of blood products daily.
We deliver exceptional laboratory services to more than 75 million people in local communities across the East Coast and Midwest. We also provide transfusion-related medical services to more than 500 hospitals nationally.
For more information on the benefits of outsourcing your lab testing services, contact New York Blood Center Enterprises.