| Laboratory services in healthcare delivery systems play a vital role in inpatient care. Laboratory testing alone accounts for approximately 10% of hospital billing. A goal for the U.S managed healthcare delivery system is to considerably reduce laboratory costs. To aid in achieving this goal, this research study focuses on the optimization of a clinical laboratory in a hospital system. This paper shows how the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is utilized in assessing and ranking the three stages of the laboratory process to determine the stage that is most critical for optimization purposes. Once this stage is identified and optimized significant cost savings can be achieved. The final results of the AHP model indicate the preanalytical stage is the most critical stage amongst the three stages in the laboratory process. |
Updated 02/23/2014