Time, Money, and Lives Blog

The Lean movement began as a management philosophy for manufacturing companies to increase consistency, remove unnecessary steps, and eliminate waste. Although Lean was originally intended to improve industrialized product development, it is now heavily applied to service industries and healthcare, including surgical pathology labs. The goal of implementing Lean practices in a lab is to make significant cuts in expenses while improving patient safety and the satisfaction of referring physicians. This is done by creating efficiency that drives quicker and higher quality outcomes.

Often times, companies believe that investing in a new technology will lead to vast efficiency improvement. The reality is that unless carefully planned and incorporated into a LEAN process, the results can be a mixed bag. In this blog I will attempt to point out a few of the many things that should be considered when implementing speech recognition based reporting solutions as part of a Lean laboratory strategy.

That is not exactly the title you expected to read from the CEO of the leading speech recognition reporting solution company for Pathology, is it?

I was recently interviewed for an upcoming article in CAP Today regarding the present state of speech technology in Pathology reporting.  The author, Kevin O'Reilly, asked me to respond to a double-blind study conducted in 2012 by Steven Suvalsky, MHS, PA(ASCP) and Valerie Boelman, BS, LBC in Iowa.  The study used personnel in comparable surgical pathology departments to measure the return on investment of using Dragon software in a lab and transferring elements of the workload from the transcriptionist to the PA and the Pathologist. The conclusions of the study were as follows...

About two years ago, we realized that we need a better way to track and measure initiatives within the company. Like many small businesses, we were going along figuring we were doing everything right as long as our results were good enough...until they weren't. We wanted to grow, not settle. We started using Rhythm Systems to plan our goals and strategies, report key performance indicators (KPIs), set team initiatives, and track individual priorities. But what are those KPIs and individual priorities?

There is a concept in the culinary world referred to as “mise en place.” The phrase is from the French, roughly translating as “everything it it’s place,” and it refers to organizing the kitchen in a way that allows chefs to have everything prepped and ready to work with maximum efficiency.  It allows the chef and their staff to create the meals they’ll need during a given shift, made to order, one at a time.

In Pathology, work areas are organized so that specimens move through the department in the most expeditious manner possible. There are time-tested procedures, carts to hold specimens, machines, timers, and many other solutions to each problem Pathologists and PAs are trying to solve.

I was listening to a radio interview with a cast member from the upcoming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," and I immediately thought of the iconic phrase, "these aren't the droids you're looking for.”  I have always loved memes and the classic Star Wars movies.  Considering the timing of the new release, I had a sudden urge to write a blog that applies the meme to laboratories looking for new Pathology transcriptionists.