Around the world THiiNC encounters similar change drivers, and has developed unique methods of helping customers deal with them.
There’s a requirement to undertake more complex tests with fewer staff. Many jurisdictions are deeply concerned about attrition and the complexity of attracting and training new staff.
As analytical platforms become more automated, technologist staff with science decrees are increasingly migrating to more complex areas of the laboratory – increasingly these areas undertake molecular diagnostic testing. One client projects a decline from 565 to 430 technical FTE's in the next five years.
Clients continue to search for methods which allow quality to increase while cutting costs. With staff attrition a significant factor in most jurisdictions, finding savings becomes less difficult – maintaining quality is often a challenge.
Test volumes continue to increase as governments give general practitioners much more latitude in the types and numbers of tests they order. In some jurisdictions routine test orders (CBCs, basic chemistries) are increasing by more than 10% per annum. Most clients project test increases of a minimum of 25% - 35% over the next five years.
There is an increasing requirement to invest in demonstrable quality – laboratories which have not until now been subject to accreditation are increasingly investing in methods to demonstrate the quality of their processes.
Every laboratorian is well aware of the current and potential impact of personalized medicine. Most recently herceptin has been in the public spotlight – hailed as a breakthrough for those women with breast cancer who express the HER2neu gene. Of course, the laboratory identifies which women will benefit from the drug. |
