The University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville has implemented a task force focused on eliminating unnecessary laboratory testing, which could serve as a national model for other hospitals to improve lab utilization.
The task force is led by:
- Andrew Parsons, MD, a hospitalist and assistant professor of medicine at UVA Health System
- Joseph Wiencek, PhD, associate director of clinical chemistry at UVA Health System
Many of the task force's initiatives focus on changing the culture of unnecessary lab testing through training and educational efforts with medical students, residents and fellows, according to Drs. Parsons and Wiencek.
For example, UVA residents receive a weekly email that highlights individual and team lab ordering practices, so physicians can see how they compare to their peers. High utilizers receive email reminders, encouraging them to modify their practices.
The health system is also developing a decision-support system that uses EHR data to guide more efficient lab ordering and creating a laboratory formulary committee, which will review the appropriateness of lab tests for various illnesses.
Drs. Parsons and Wiencek outlined these strategies in a research paper published in Clinical Lab Manager.