How to Turn Your Mid-Sized Medical Laboratory into a Thriving Large-Scale Operation

It didn’t happen overnight, but thanks to your business acumen and a strong support team, your start-up anatomic pathology practice or reference laboratory has matured and blossomed into a successful business with a solid client base and an equally solid reputation.

Congratulations are in order, as this was no easy feat, especially considering that your lab had to successfully manage the challenges associated with a once-in-a-lifetime event like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

You’re here today because of careful planning, timely decisions, and effective execution of those plans. 

Going from start-up to established had its own special set of challenges, so if the goal is to turn this mid-sized medical laboratory into a thriving large-scale operation, there will be new barriers and threats to overcome. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to help your laboratory facilitate the desired growth and expansion.

Avoid Paralysis by Laboratory Analysis 

As a start-up with a much smaller staff, management decisions were likely made after gathering input from your colleagues. The engagement of all stakeholders affected by a planned change (while the process is happening) is a common and accepted practice in change management doctrine. 

But what if this collective engagement fails to reach a consensus and instead creates decision-making paralysis? What then?

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review (Leading a Midsize Business Through Change) touched on this topic, with the author, Ron Ashkenas, suggesting that “the real issue is not whether to get a large number of people involved or not - but rather how to get them involved.”

In his article, Ashkenas, a Partner Emeritus at Schaffer Consulting and co-author of the Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook argues that it’s human nature to view change through a “will this be good or bad for me and my team” lens, and because of this, decision-making and concluding change becomes more difficult as more people get involved. 

In Ashkenas’ view, there’s a big difference between offering an opinion and being a decision-maker, and that’s where mid-sized companies can get lost. He believes decisions that affect the company’s direction should be made by a smaller team, namely the company’s CEO and his or her trusted executives. Then, once a decision has been made, a larger group can work together to communicate and implement that decision. 

Guiding Principles for Those on the Verge of Major Change 

Ashkenas closed his article by providing two guiding principles for mid-sized companies that have a  culture of engagement:

• Be clear about whether you’re engaging people to provide input or to make a decision.  

• Have a dedicated leader who will be deeply engaged throughout the process.

Taking the Ashkenas Principles and Applying Them to the Medical Lab Industry 

Now let’s pivot back to the topic at hand, and that’s how to turn your successful mid-sized medical laboratory into a large-scale operation that dominates the marketplace. With nearly two decades of experience in this space, we at LigoLab have often worked with labs just like yours, successful small businesses on the verge of being great providing that they make the right decisions going forward. Based on our experiences and best practices, we recommend the Ashkenas approach to decision-making, and that is to effectively communicate the plan to all stakeholders at every stage, but leave the mission-critical decisions up to a small and experienced leadership team.

We’ve Been There Before 

As founders of LigoLab, both Edward Kharatian and I can relate to the situation that you’re currently in. Before founding our laboratory information system (LIS) company in 2006, we worked together at Healthline Clinical Laboratories. Edward was the CIO and I ran the lab’s IT department. We leveraged the technology available to grow the lab and it became the largest privately held lab in California.

Technology was a huge enabler, but as we grew we realized that these piecemealed solutions resulted in multiple lab vendors. As a business, we went from being innovative to being in constant maintenance mode.

The lessons learned helped launch our LIS company with a shared vision of the advantages inherent in integrated and unified pathology lab software (click here to learn how the LIS company was founded).

Stop Building a Laboratory Information System Monster

Over our many years of service, we’ve learned to recognize a few common trends that need to be properly addressed now if your lab is to grow efficiently and achieve its goals.  

Is your lab using multiple disparate laboratory software systems to complete clinical laboratory workflows? If so, how many software systems are in place currently? Do these systems work well together or create data silos? What happens if something goes wrong and multiple software lab vendors refuse to take the blame for the issue at hand? Are you using paper or Excel to log QA/QC items?

We see this all the time, prospective laboratory partners who’ve outgrown their original laboratory information systems (pathology lab software) and created a laboratory information system monster by piecing together multiple systems and workarounds to do the job. The hard truth is that intra-system interfaces are costly, hard to maintain, and more often than not result in inconsistent data. That’s why we strongly recommend a comprehensive all-in-one pathology lab software like LigoLab Informatics Platform that unites all departments and roles and represents “one source of truth.”

The LigoLab platform is designed to streamline laboratory processes and enhance operational efficiency. Without a super-efficient LIS system platform, your lab won’t be able to break through growth barriers and quickly scale the business. Our pathology lab software solution includes over a dozen embedded modules integral to a laboratory’s success. This involves an Integration Engine, Laboratory Outreach Solutions, Document Scanning, Sendout Management, Laboratory Customer Service Software, Business Intelligence, Rules and Automation, and more. All these modules work in tandem to provide a holistic all-in-one laboratory information system software solution tailored to meet the needs of multifaceted and modern anatomic pathology practices and clinical laboratories.

Know The Difference Between LIS Software Vendors and Laboratory Informatics Partners 

Lastly, a word of caution as you and your leadership team start researching the attributes of laboratory information systems and LIS software vendors. 

Legacy LIS systems are produced by laboratory information system companies that have large advertising budgets and put on flashy presentations. These pathology software companies will first demand a large upfront capital investment for the pathology lab software license, then hit you with hidden fees for adding seats and modules as your business scales. With this LIS model, the legacy LIS company gets paid upfront and is much less interested in hearing what you and your colleagues say about their pathology LIS systems and how they can be enhanced and improved to help your business grow.

The LigoLab approach is much different. The cost of our laboratory information system software license is directly aligned with your lab’s testing volume and long-term goals. No large upfront capital is required to use the LIS software and LIS model pricing for the pathology lab software license is tiered to ensure a tailored fit and maximum value. This sets your lab up for immediate success, as does the fact that your business won’t be penalized with hidden fees for growing. The LigoLab license includes the entire LIS software solution, with no hidden costs for adding modules and seats. 

Learn More: LigoLab’s New Tiered Pricing Model for its LIS Platform Delivers a Tailored Fit and Maximum Value

This partnership approach is also evident when it comes to research and development. We firmly believe in the power of innovation and in constantly enhancing our platform’s offerings, thus ensuring that our partner laboratories are equipped to handle current demands and future changes in an industry that continues to evolve.

At LigoLab, we understand this mission-critical decision and can offer you and your team the LIS system playbook and partnership for long-term success. 

To learn more, we invite you to take a closer look at how we support our lab partners from LIS system implementation to go live and beyond, and we recommend that you click here and request a 15-minute discovery call with one of our talented LIS system product specialists.