In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with Vipul Trivedi, M.D., chair of Pathology at Mayo Clinic Health System and chair of the Division of Community Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Trivedi helps oversee 38 hospital and clinic laboratories in various Midwest communities. He shared his advice for other leaders and insights on the role of pathology in community medicine, including:

• Providing guidance to physicians to help them leverage testing to best answer questions and reduce patient care costs.
• Meeting with physicians to understand their needs so the labs are prepared to best support them.
• Simplifying procedure management.
• The power of getting out of your office to talk with colleagues and laboratory staff.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of laboratory-developed tests (LDT) and implementation of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) are both topics of high interest in the laboratory industry.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with Shannon Bennett, director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, about these two topics, giving listeners:

• Background to help them make informed decisions.
• Actionable steps to take today to prepare for implementation.
• Ideas for advocating for your laboratory.
• Sources for learning more and staying informed.

Every laboratory strives to deliver excellent service and high-quality results. Still, unexpected challenges can arise on the journey from ordering to billing that can impact patient experience, efficiency, and turnaround times.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with outreach solutions strategists Ellen Dijkman Dulkes and Brianne Newton for the second part of their discussion on minimizing visible impact to the customer when there are bumps in the road.

Their discussion includes practical, actionable tips to:

• Make it easier for providers to order the right tests.
• Enhance the patient experience.
• Prepare specimens for testing and transport to prevent errors and confusion.
• Solve reoccurring issues, address operational challenges, and navigate billing concerns.

Listen to part one of their discussion, “How to Minimize Operational Disruptions in an Outreach Program,” for more on the internal response to inclement weather, technology outages, staffing shortages, and more.