Team Cracks the Case of Missing Lab Orders
- Identifying departments that send patients and specimens without orders
- Using a playful law enforcement theme to educate the “violators”
- Monitoring data and recognizing departments that are improving
What can your team do to approach a serious issue in a more playful way? What else could your team do to help "violators" change without blame?
Members of the East Denver’s Laboratory team analyzed data to identify departments that were sending patients and specimens without lab orders. They used a light-hearted, engaging law enforcement theme to educate the “culprits.” The results were impressive: OB/Gyn went from an average of nearly one missed order a day to less than one every two days and Pediatrics went from 16 occurrences to a single one in a comparable time period.
Lab team in Colorado worked on a fun and innovative way to eliminate the problem of specimens and patients showing up at the lab without orders in the system.
East Denver Medical Office Lab co-leads: Alma Lahti, Scott Moede and Lucy Tyler.
time the Pediatrics department sent patients and specimens without orders, down from 16 occurrences over a two-month period