Lab and IT Collaboration Leads to Unexpected Benefits for the Lab

The management of laboratory information is always a hot topic in the healthcare industry as the landscape becomes more complex with the rapidly changing demands of healthcare delivery. The sophistication of the clinical systems and the number of organizational IT projects is dramatically increasing to keep up with the voluminous amount of data to process and evaluate between systems. The pandemic further highlights the need for laboratories to accelerate their IT readiness to place instruments, tests, and applications online. While the analytical aspects of data delivery are important, there is equal emphasis on getting this information into the clinical-decision loop as quickly as possible.

The accelerated pace to get laboratory data into the organization’s information highway challenges many laboratories that do not have the proper alignment with their IT counterparts. A strong relationship between the lab and IT stakeholders is imperative, not only to meet the information cycling requirements that a healthcare organization needs but also to be prepared to manage the unexpected. Without tight alignment of project scope, requirements, priority, and timelines, labs can miss the moment. In today’s environment, interruptions in data generation, eventually jeopardize the quality of patient care.

The complexity inherent in IT lab projects inevitably involves issues that were not anticipated at the start or were somehow missed in the planning. When these unexpected events occur, very often they come later in the project when options are few and pressure to execute is greatest. In these situations, the relationship between stakeholders is tested. A strong relationship and shared vision of success between the lab and IT teams enable quick decision-making to recover from bumps in the road or to rebound from failed attempts.  A successful and beneficial relationship between the laboratory and IT departments goes beyond a business transaction such as buying a new instrument or upgrading a system application. A strong and deep relationship leverages overall corporate learning and problem solving to maximize use of the organization’s software systems and infrastructure.

Recipe for Success

Lexington Medical Center located in West Columbia, South Carolina, is one organization that nurtures the lab/IT cross-departmental relationship for its benefit. Jason Cherry, Director of IS Technology Services, and Wendi Knight, MLS (ASCP), Administrative Laboratory Director, believe in cross-departmental partnering and establishing routine communications that circumvent unnecessary issues and project delays. Working as a cohesive team they are able to quickly push software features that directly impact staff utilization and the health of the laboratory operations.

The key attributes of this cross-discipline relationship, described as their ‘special sauce’ for creating a high-performance lab and IT team, are 1-organizational culture and trust; 2-tight integration; 3-can-do attitude, 4-feedback loop, and 5-teamwork-on-the-fly.   Lexington believes that these are important characteristics that result in consistent on-time projects with a more robust level of software application features implemented.

1- Organizational Culture and Trust

“Top management sets our organizational culture. Our medical director has invested in creating a culture of collaboration and partnership”, explains Knight. “Upper management has an open-door policy with all employees, and they regularly meet with the laboratory and the IT department leaders to lend support and direction. This has created an atmosphere of two-way trust that encourages cross-sharing of issues and concerns with senior leaders. This kind of openness gives our cross-departmental lab/IT team the latitude to make decisions and take risks which have developed into a unified ‘team identity of shared common goals and values.”

Cherry adds “Lexington Medical Center’s executive team leaders embrace innovation. They push our teams to get ahead of the curve. Department managers are encouraged to ‘think beyond the box in our approach to project management, problem-solving and issues mitigation.”

2 - Tight Integration Cuts Through the Bureaucracy

The development of high-performance teams is more than hiring and retaining talented people.  Curating an effective team largely depends on well-managed channels of communication.  The combined lab and IT team at Lexington Medical Center meet weekly if not more frequently, depending on the volume of projects. They share a joint list of projects to review and analyze together. “Our joint standing meetings are data-driven touchpoints that help us prioritize the projects according to impact and urgency without excessive administrative procedures,” explains Cherry. “This keeps things aligned and avoids miscommunications or misfires.” Knight chimes in, “our culture of mutual trust and respect values and promotes feedback and learning from mistakes. Each team member acknowledges one another as an expert in his or her area, and this, more than anything we could have dictated as directors, has led to resolving issues and overcoming obstacles faster and with greater success.”

3- Can-Do-Attitude

Another Lexington ‘superpower’ of the lab/IT team can be described simply as their ‘can-do-attitude’. “I believe that an underlying reason for our cross-functional team success is its positive attitude and a high degree of engagement,” explains Knight. “Regular check-ins between our groups along with real-time open access to our respective stakeholders gives each team member the space to share how they are feeling and the frustrations they face.”  

4- Feedback Loop

Connecting with her front-line technologists helps Knight understand how her team copes day-to-day and what do they need to improve their working experience. “I am on a mission to hear what is happening at the bench, get the technologist’s viewpoint and find out what is hindering their productivity,” says Knight. In turn, feedback is evaluated by the lab/IT team to ensure they are addressing these requirements.  A by-product of using the feedback-loop between Knight, her staff, and the lab/IT team has resulted in the implementation of many IT improvements that measurably impact technologist retention and satisfaction.

Less important but would be curious: with the open-door policy, how do these get communicated to senior leadership and what has been their reaction? Does the organization have a ‘rewards’ system that shines a light on employees, like technologists who bring issues/ideas forward which are then implemented through IT or other means?

5- Crisis Management - Teamwork on the Fly

At what point did the Lexington Medical Center IT/Lab team know that they possessed the attributes of a high-performing team? What was the turning point when it all clicked for them, and they knew they were making a big difference in their organization? Crisis management is the true test of any team’s strength and enduring effectiveness. Cherry describes one of their first downtime situations when the IT and lab teams quickly came together to re-purpose technology and expand the use of their existing systems to resolve the issue. This set the stage for future team interaction – quick mobilization, exploration of options, and tapping into their individual and team expertise. As Lexington Medical Center’s IT environment grows more complex, the IT and Lab teams have learned to work together and apply their knowledge and technology in unpredictable ways.

Paying It Forward

This cross-departmental collaboration of lab and IT has developed its own identity, legitimacy, and decision-making control. It has effectively demonstrated its ability to complete projects on time and with a positive outcome. What’s next for this high-performing team at Lexington Medical Center? “We are instituting a project charter to improve the documentation of scheduled and impromptu projects,” explains Knight. “The use of a project charter not only helps us define and describe the project, but it also puts rigor into determining what are the expected outcomes and what are the risks. Everything we have learned and are learning as a team will be reflected in our project charter process. We expect it will improve our team’s agility and focus as we head into 2022.” Cherry echoes Knight’s determination, “We have learned to embrace the unknown together, creating new knowledge as a holistic lab/IT team. We want to leverage the project charter process to give our team even greater insights as they face their next challenge.

Sidebar

Contrast Low vs High Performing Lab/IT Team. Where does your lab sit?

Low Performing Lab/IT Team

The laboratory needs to place a specific test online as fast as possible with a new version of the software for the existing clinical instrumentation. The IT department is given the task by laboratory management to update the interface for the test. They both assume the instrument interface build is the same as past versions. The interface build is completed by IT and delivered to the lab for testing. The interface fails and the delivery of the new test is delayed up to months, impacting the lab’s ability to provide key testing capability.

High Performing Lab IT/Team

The laboratory needs to place a specific test online as fast as possible with a new version of the software for the existing clinical instrumentation. The lab/IT team come together to discuss all aspects of the project. A project charter document is created that guides the lab/IT team through the scope, objectives, and risks of the project. A checklist of activities includes one to review the instrument interface specifications against the new requirements. The lab/IT team immediately notes a change to the interface is required to implement the new test. The interface build is completed by IT and delivered to the lab for testing which proceeds normally. The lab delivers the test parameter on time to meet the organization’s requirements.