IMPACT OF COST-CUTTING ON LABORATORIES - NEW BUSINESS STRATEGIES FOR LABORATORIES

Cost reduction is the primary force driving healthcare reform, To surv ive and thrive in these tumultuous times, laboratories must adapt and implement new business strategies. Business paradigm shifts create opp ortunities for organizations with a plan; a wait-and-see attitude fore casts failure. Drawing upon an 11-year experience with the ''ARUP busi ness model,'' this work will highlight business strategies that have c ontributed to the success of this university-based reference laborator y. In the future, successful laboratories will implement new business strategies to become more effective members of the emerging integrated healthcare delivery teams. Within the laboratory, traditional organiz ational disciplinary boundaries, i.e., chemistry, microbiology, and he matology, are melding together to increase efficiency. Laboratorians m ust become influential members of institutional healthcare delivery te ams formed to control utilization, Laboratory services are being adjus ted to optimize patient care. Incremental pricing is only one of the s trategies to be implemented to expand outpatient business to those in the region. Expanded computer capabilities, client services, specimen handling, marketing, and sales are also required. On a regional basis, service laboratories are increasingly joining forces to increase effi ciency while at the same time improving the quality of patient care.