Type of Practice: Internal Medicine Practice in east-central Ohio

Number of Physicians: 4 physicians (3 Internal Medicine, 1 Physician who is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonology, Critical Care and Sleep Disorders)

SMARTLab;  Opened: April 2006

Previous lab services: Conducted office-based CLIA-waived tests such as HbA1C, Cholesterol, ProTime, ALT.  Other testing was completed at the adjacent hospital laboratory which, while geographically close and convenient, was busy enough to require patients to wait up to two hours for testing.

Testing volume: Currently about 1000 tests per month

Impact on practice: Adding an on-site laboratory to our practice has provided increased revenue as well as a higher level of care for our patients. Feedback from both physicians and patients shows increased satisfaction over our previous testing process.

Lessons learned: We learned through our experience with CLIA-waived testing that the regulatory requirements of testing are extremely comprehensive and can be overwhelming. The continuous QI steps associated with CLIA-waived testing were challenging us already so we knew that moving to greater complexity tests would be difficult unless we had outside experience to support and advise us. That is why we chose a SMARTLab; model rather than try to develop the lab on our own. Today, the lab runs smoothly and continues to provide increasing benefit to the practice.

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