The effects of total laboratory automation on the management of a clinical chemistry laboratory. Retrospective analysis of 36 years.
BACKGROUND
Thirty-six years of data and history of laboratory practice at our institution has enabled us to follow the effects of analytical automation, then recently pre-analytical and post-analytical automation on productivity, cost reduction and enhanced quality of service.


METHODS
In 1998, we began the operation of a pre- and post-analytical automation system (robotics), together with an advanced laboratory information system to process specimens prior to analysis, deliver them to various automated analytical instruments, specimen outlet racks and finally to refrigerated stockyards. By the end of 3 years of continuous operation, we compared the chemistry part of the system with the prior 33 years and quantitated the financial impact of the various stages of automation.


RESULTS
Between 1965 and 2000, the Consumer Price Index increased by a factor of 5.5 in the United States. During the same 36 years, at our institution's Chemistry Department the productivity (indicated as the number of reported test results/employee/year) increased from 10,600 to 104,558 (9.3-fold). When expressed in constant 1965 dollars, the total cost per test decreased from 0.79 dollars to 0.15 dollars. Turnaround time for availability of results on patient units decreased to the extent that Stat specimens requiring a turnaround time of <1 h do not need to be separately prepared or prioritized on the system.


CONCLUSIONS
Our experience shows that the introduction of a robotics system for perianalytical automation has brought a large improvement in productivity together with decreased operational cost. It enabled us to significantly increase our workload together with a reduction of personnel. In addition, stats are handled easily and there are benefits such as safer working conditions and improved sample identification, which are difficult to quantify at this stage.
Sarkozi
Laszlo
L
Center for Clinical Laboratories, Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA. Laszlo.Sarkozi@mssm.edu
Simson
Elkin
E
Ramanathan
Lakshmi
L
D001331:Automation / Q000191:economics; D004526:Efficiency; D007256:Information Systems / Q000191:economics; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009518:New York; D012371:Robotics / Q000191:economics; D016526:Workload