In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, is joined by colleagues Ellen Dijkman Dulkes and Brianne Newton. They discuss strategies for delivering excellent customer service. Specific topics include:

• Identifying points of contact with patients and clients that are opportunities to deliver a good experience.
• Creating a culture of customer service.
• Empowering employees to best serve patients and clients.
• Measuring your customer service.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, is joined by colleagues Ellen Dijkman Dulkes and Brianne Newton. They discuss and share tips related to gathering customer input, including:

• The various audiences that can provide valuable feedback.
• Specific examples of the type of feedback to gather from each audience.
• Insights on designing and sending surveys to maximize participation.

Visit mayocliniclabs.com to find the survey instruction guide and article about surveying discussed in this episode.

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.

Outreach operational plans are designed to provide excellent customer service, support staff efficiency, and maintain high quality. As with any business, laboratories may face unexpected circumstances that temporarily impact operations.

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 about how to establish processes that allow outreach programs to efficiently recover from road bumps and minimize visible impact to the customer.

Their discussion topics include:

• Navigating inclement weather and adverse events that may impact courier services.
• Managing disruptions and outages to the information technology systems.
• Preparing effective downtime plans.
• Maintaining operations during a staffing shortage.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with Camille Jewell, outpatient laboratory service technician at Mayo Clinic. They discuss how laboratory outreach programs can incorporate outcall or home phlebotomy to help prevent hospital readmissions, support patients with mobility challenges, and provide patient-centered care to the community.

Specific topics of discussion include:

• What to consider when developing a home phlebotomy program, including patient criteria, physician collaboration, community need, scheduling, logistics, and staff training.
• Real-life examples of home phlebotomy scenarios.
• Lessons learned through Mayo Clinic’s home phlebotomy program.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, is joined by Mark Kjer, supervisor of technologist support at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. They discuss the different perspectives of the outreach program from the laboratory’s operational and technical levels.

Their discussion topics include:

• Challenges related to the outreach program from the lab's perspective.
• How to support staff so they can successfully manage the variations in the pre-analytic phase.
• The distinct roles of the laboratory staff in the outreach program.
• The importance of staff and client feedback in developing effective workstreams.
• How to be an advocate for both the hospital and outreach laboratory programs.

Learn more best practices at the Leveraging the Laboratory conference on Sept. 17 and 18, 2024, in Rochester, Minnesota. Register online.