Case Study
A Medical Lab’s Journey to One Million COVID-19 Tests
March 25, 2024
With an ongoing aggressive second surge in COVID-19 cases in the fall of 2020, faster and more reliable testing rates moved back into a critical stage for a prominent all-purpose direct-to-consumer lab testing organization that was aligned with the Illinois Department of Health.
What follows is a summary of what the lab did to drastically enhance efficiency and test turnaround times soon after an outbreak of the Coronavirus in the spring of 2020. The summary includes details about the lab’s laboratory information system (LIS abbreviation medical) and its implementation of the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal which created a streamlined digital workflow that allowed the lab to move its testing capacity up to 15,000 daily specimens.
From patient demographic acquisition and appointment scheduling to specimen collection and laboratory processing, and finally the delivery of consumer lab reports (via email, SMS, or portal), plus laboratory billing and follow-up, TestDirectly expertly supported all of these workflows while resolving patient-specific related bottlenecks (such as paper requisitions and manual labor). As a result of its partnership with TestDirectly (and TestDirectly.com/TestDirectly results time), the lab hit the one million COVID-19 tests milestone in just eight months.
Here’s a recap of that journey to the one million milestone.
November 19 was a milestone day, a bright moment in an otherwise dark winter. That’s the day that a prominent all-purpose lab based in Illinois processed and reported its one millionth SARS-CoV-2 case.
That’s one million COVID-19 tests since April 2020. Quite an accomplishment for a practice that quickly pivoted and added molecular lab testing software to its growing histopathology business just as the first wave of the pandemic was hitting the state.
Credit the lab’s CEO for not only recognizing the need to act quickly but also having the vision to invest in and build a scalable operation that hospitals, long-term care facilities, and government agencies continue to rely on as a massive second wave surges through the state.
For nearly two years, the lab has partnered with LigoLab for its molecular lab software (laboratory information system, also known as a molecular LIS), needs, with the fully integrated LigoLab LIS & RCM Laboratory Informatics Platform serving as the backbone for all laboratory (LIS system) and financial (laboratory billing or laboratory revenue cycle management) operations. The platform features embedded modules for anatomic pathology, clinical laboratory, molecular diagnostics, lab revenue cycle management, and direct-to-consumer lab testing, all on one united infrastructure that eliminates data silos and allows the laboratory to start the lab billing cycle at the order level.
This meant that back in April, the lab already had a significant piece in place - the molecular diagnostic lab software module - that would serve as the base from which the laboratory could build out its molecular LIS testing workflow. From there, the leadership at the lab added the necessary instrumentation, such as particle extraction platforms, safety hoods, liquid handling platforms, and real-time PCR systems, and began testing soon thereafter.
As the need for testing has grown over the last several months, the testing capacity at the lab has also steadily increased to meet the demand. This can be attributed to the lab’s willingness to invest in more instrumentation, and its use of the innovative TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal, the newest addition to the LigoLab platform that helps labs eliminate the bottlenecks and friction that they typically face with TestDirectly.com and expedited TestDirectly results time. Add to that a well-earned reputation for providing high-quality test results without sacrificing test turnaround times and it's easy to see why an agency like the Illinois Department of Public Health would choose this lab as a testing partner.
“The State of Illinois relies heavily on us for testing and they keep sending us more samples,” said the Lab’s CEO, who estimated that 75 percent of the current workload is coming from drive-through or mobile testing sites. “They’ve also been extremely impressed with TestDirectly.”
At present, the lab is processing specimens from 10 testing sites (eight drive-throughs and two mobile sites) run by IDPH. Of these 10 sites, six are using TestDirectly and TestDirectly.com for their COVID-19 collection, testing, and consumer lab reports workflow.
TestDirectly is a web-based direct-to-consumer lab testing portal that works seamlessly with any laboratory information system (LIS system, pathology software) to replace paper requisitions and manual labor with a streamlined digital workflow that boosts testing capacity and improves turnaround times (TestDirectly results time). It’s accessible from anywhere at any time from any mobile device and it supports the complete life-cycle of a case and a specimen, including patient self-registration and scheduling, specimen collection (drive-through, walk-ups, employer testing), laboratory processing, consumer lab reports delivery, and laboratory billing operations.
“Our biggest problem is the bottleneck on intake. If we’re able to utilize TestDirectly and get the samples quickly into processing, we have the staff and equipment to handle the capacity without it negatively affecting turnaround times,” said the CEO, who continues to push IDPH to deploy the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal for all of its drive-through and mobile testing sites.
“The errors and the fluidity become barriers without the LigoLab platform and TestDirectly. By spending less time trying to interface with four separate systems across the state a lot of people will be better off, because we all know that data transfer doesn’t work perfectly every time,” said the CEO.
The lab’s Medical Director echoed these comments while also providing an inside look at the challenges the lab faces daily while managing a testing capacity that’s now reached 15,000 specimens per day.
“There are constant battles that everybody faces. Reagent shortages, consumable shortages, personnel shortages,” said the Medical Director, a former Chief Virologist for the IDPH. “That being said, we have an excellent staff and we are making strides every day to increase our testing capacities.”
The doctor joined the lab in September, and since that time the laboratory has effectively doubled its testing capacity to keep up with demand by adding four additional particle extraction platforms and three additional real-time PCR systems to their operations.
According to the doctor, the lab now has eight real-time PCR systems and each one is capable of running 384 specimens in just under 90 minutes. He also said those machines can run 24/7 without delay because TestDirectly (and TestDirectly results) have been invaluable in removing the accessioning barrier.
“Having the patient pre-register and enter in their demographic details and other information ahead of time has been essential to this whole process,” said the doctor. “When the patient gets to the mobile testing site, all that information is added automatically. Then it’s just simply linking that specimen back to that patient, putting a barcode on it, and moving on.”
Historically accessioning has been done either through hard orders (paper requisitions) or by the patient filling out a form before collection, with info from that form then manually entered into the lab information system. But with TestDirectly supporting direct-to-consumer labs, the barcode is scanned, the information is verified through the LIS system, and then the specimen is sent straight to the testing laboratory.
“If we had 15,000 hard order requisitions, it would be impossible to maintain test directly results at that sample volume. TestDirectly has worked flawlessly and the fact that it links directly into our LIS software has saved countless hours,” stated the doctor, who also noted the importance of patients having the ability to log in and access their test results as another huge time-saver on the backend.
One million COVID-19 tests in eight months is something to celebrate, but please forgive the lab if it chooses to save that celebration for another day.
“I think the battle is just beginning. We’re still facing several months of this before we have any real type of solution,” concluded the CEO.
Unite Your LIS System & Lab RCM Workflows and Revolutionize Your Business
The LigoLab LIS & RCM Laboratory Informatics Platform is a fully integrated laboratory information system that also includes laboratory billing solutions. The platform connects every laboratory department on one united pathology lab software infrastructure to transform operations. Unlike traditional lab RCM solutions, LigoLab starts the laboratory billing process at the order level with powerful verification and scrubbing components that are shared by the LIS and RCM modules. The platform also features automation and a seamless workflow designed to increase operational efficiency, transparency, revenue, and profit.
To learn more about LigoLab's all-in-one platform and its highly customizable molecular lab software solution for LIS system workflow and direct-to-consumer lab testing, please visit LigoLab.com or contact us today.
