The recent swine-flu outbreak has highlighted a problem many hospitals and independent labs face: a shortage of qualified lab technicians.
For pathologists, histotechs and others familiar with the workings of labs, the issue of staff shortages is nothing new. But for patients and the general public, this issue was recently brought to light in a recent Wall Street Journal article by Laura Landro (The Informed Patient) titled
"Staff Shortages in Labs May Put Patients at Risk."
Read the article here.The article does an excellent job using numbers to highlight the problem: lab technicians currently number 300,000 nationwide, and average job-vacancy rates currently top 50% in some states. The federal government estimates that 138,000 new lab professionals will be needed by 2012 to replace technicians expected to retire, but only 50,000 will be trained by that time.
Given that lab tests are responsible for up to 80% of all diagnostic and treatment decisions made by physicians, what will the future of healthcare look like if these chronic staff shortages are not properly addressed?
Can automation help alleviate the problem by reducing FTEs?
Every lab's goal is to provide fast, accurate, and high-quality lab test results that lead to quick diagnoses and positive patient outcomes. Automation, error-proofing and workflow enhancement technologies (including
ID/Positive) are having a very positive impact on helping labs achieve that goal. But with looming staff shortages of the magnitude spelled out in this article, should the emphasis of automation technology shift more towards reducing FTEs?