Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 33
IN FO CUS
S T R A T E G I C A P P R O A C H E S to D E S I G N C H A L L E N G E S
CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC facilities house laborato-
PLANNING AND DESIGN
DAVID SENIOR
GOING WITH THE FLOWS
Creating an efficient clinical diagnostic lab begins with an
understanding of the client's operational and functional needs
By Paul Hansen
ries where tests are performed on clinical samples and specimens to obtain information about
the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. These laboratories offer a variety of testing services and can
vary in size and complexity, ranging from labs
co-located in medical office buildings and hospitals to standalone high-volume, high-throughput academic medical center and commercial
core labs.
Organic growth of clinical diagnostic laboratories to accommodate emergent analytical
equipment or test assays often leads to functional challenges that must be addressed. This
is especially true in labs where regulatory compliance, turnaround time, and cost per test are
significant measures of success. If alterations
to the laboratory environment and layout are
not planned proactively, they can impact the
processing of samples and specimens, resulting in inefficiencies in lab flows. This issue isn't
exclusive to decades-old spaces, either. Too
often, new labs are designed based on specific
equipment requirements or on a simplistic
analysis of program and budget, rather than
on the functional realities of workflows that
should inform configurations.
Decisions should be made with an eye on prioritizing flows in the context of achieving regulatory conformance and Lean operations. For
example, if the most important criterion is cost
per test, planning for high-throughput sample
and specimen flow and turnaround time will be
paramount; if sample or specimen chain of custody and integrity are considered most important, separation of sample and specimen flow
and waste streams will also inform lab planning
configurations. Of course, both are of vital importance, which is what makes the design of
these spaces so tricky. To make trade-offs effectively, design teams need to know the scope of
the lab operation; the resulting flows of samples,
lab staff, and materials; and the operational issues lab employees face every day. Taking these
first steps to prioritize and understand these issues will work toward removing
bottlenecks and process overlaps
and ensuring operational efficiency
and cost-effectiveness.
APRIL 2020
33
Healthcare Design - April 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - April 2020
Healthcare Design - April 2020
Editorial
Show Talk
Right Timing
Sowing Kindness
Call For Nominations For Hcd 10
Solid Ground
Brain Power
Planning And Design
Product Spotlight
The Center
Suppl Ement To Healthcare Design
Face Time
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Healthcare Design - April 2020
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Cover2
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 1
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 2
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 3
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 4
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 5
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 6
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 7
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 8
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Editorial
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Show Talk
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 11
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 12
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Right Timing
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 14
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 15
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Call For Nominations For Hcd 10
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 17
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Solid Ground
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 19
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 20
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 21
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 22
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 23
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 24
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 25
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Brain Power
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 27
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 28
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 29
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 30
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 31
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 32
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Planning And Design
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 34
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 35
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 36
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Product Spotlight
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 38
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 39
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - The Center
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 41
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Suppl Ement To Healthcare Design
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 43
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 44
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 45
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 46
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - 47
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Face Time
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Cover3
Healthcare Design - April 2020 - Cover4
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