WMLM1319 - CME/CMLE - LMU 18 (Fundamentals) Financial - Foundations in Business Planning as a Basis for Financial Management-WMLM1319

WMLM1319 - Pre-Reading Assignment 1

Pdf Summary

In a message from M. Sue Zaleski, the Chair of the Council of Laboratory Professionals, the focus is on the changing economics of healthcare and its impact on clinical laboratory budgeting and operations. Healthcare reform is shifting costs onto patients, leading to an increase in patient debts and a need for healthcare providers to reduce operating costs. Laboratory managers are advised to embrace strategies such as Lean principles, technology investments, and process improvements to enhance efficiency and productivity. The successful implementation of these strategies at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics resulted in improved productivity and reduced processing times. Workforce engagement strategies, like reallocating tasks and creating new positions, helped in improving inventory management and staff morale.<br /><br />To thrive in today's healthcare environment, laboratory managers must not only manage budgets but also use benchmarking metrics to continuously improve productivity and efficiency by learning from top-performing peer labs. Benchmarking involves comparing performance and engaging in best practice sharing activities to drive success. The laboratory manager is likened to a coach responsible for developing winning strategies using budget data and benchmarking metrics. The message concludes with an invitation for feedback or questions to be directed to Ms. Zaleski. The key takeaway is the importance of adapting to the changing healthcare economics, implementing strategies for cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and using benchmarking metrics to drive performance excellence in laboratory operations.

Keywords

healthcare economics

clinical laboratory budgeting

operating costs

Lean principles

technology investments

process improvements

workforce engagement

inventory management

benchmarking metrics

performance excellence