Evaluation and Improvement Strategy of Analytical Turnaround Time in the Stat Laboratory

Background/Purpose Laboratory analytical turnaround time represents laboratory effectiveness. Our study aimed to evaluate laboratory analytical turnaround time to optimize workflow and shorten analytical turnaround time. Methods We used the laboratory information system in a 2000-bed teaching hospital to compute and analyze the 90 th percentile turnaround time of the Stat Laboratory from 2001 to 2003. Results The overall 90 th percentile turnaround time in the Stat Laboratory was 40–49 minutes and positively correlated with test volume. The daily test volume in the Stat Laboratory has grown significantly in the latter 2 half-years of the study as compared with the previous 2 half-years ( p p Conclusion These findings demonstrated that a dedicated means of process control was able to significantly improve laboratory efficiency.