Clinical Laboratory Testing has a vital role in improved patient care. Testing can facilitate the early diagnosis of various conditions and provide valuable information that will help the physician establish a treatment plan and monitor the patient's condition over time.
In some instances, specific laboratory tests are needed in-house regardless of profitability. Still, most tests can be sent to a reference laboratory if they are not immediately essential for the patient and provider's needs. Health care providers generally prefer in-house testing if it can be justified for various reasons. Some reasons include convenience for them and their patients, better turnaround times, the ability to reorder tests with a fast turnaround time when results don't match expectations, and confidence in the test results. In addition, in-house testing may reduce patients' stays for managed care patients (each day of stay is a significant expense) and the cost of laboratory testing since in-house testing is often less expensive than sending testing to a reference laboratory. Therefore, it is important for laboratory managers and supervisors to understand how laboratory testing is reimbursed. This will provide the rationale for pursuing cost containment and understanding the necessity of calculating worker productivity.
