INTEGRATE
Laboratory Performance Improvement & Consulting Services
Engage proven lab performance improvement tools and counsel to transform and grow confidently.
Staying on pace with regulatory, economic, competitive, and opportunistic changes requires agility – which demands a structured approach to performance management.
The capacity to evolve is necessary to remain stable or pursue growth. In an industry as complex and rapidly shifting as healthcare, the chances are high that your lab has made changes across the spectrum from minor to transformative.
You know that the ability to institute any level of change demands a high degree of agility and preparedness. Colaborate works in close collaboration with independent and hospital-based labs to ensure they have both. We combine industry-specific expertise and proven laboratory performance improvement tools to help you spot areas where change is needed and then to act quickly and confidently. Since 2005, the approach has resulted in significant gains for our clients.
Our Laboratory Performance Improvement Services
Compliance Support
Colaborate assists the regulatory compliance needs of hospitals, clinical laboratories, pathology practices, laboratory billing companies, and other laboratory service providers. Our industry specialists offer a proprietary set of compliance programs and tools including:
- A widely-used, best-practice laboratory compliance audit assessment
- A ‘report card’ measurement tool
- Correct coding audit processes
- Customized training programs
- Employee compliance training
With them, our clients see impressive improvements in efficiency, service quality, billing processes, accounts receivable revenue cycle process flow, and compliance with related laws and regulations.
Lab Automation
While automation can improve quality, productivity, service, labor, costs, and efficiency in the long run, implementing the solutions can demand significant upfront time and financial resources.
Colaborate helps laboratories analyze opportunities, challenges, and decisions necessary to optimize the investment, including:
- Calculating the true cost of costs of automation, including understanding the ROI
- Choosing the best fit for the laboratory in introducing new technology
- Evaluating the various levels of automation
- Exploring technological alternatives to reach your business goal
Together, we create consistent laboratory improvement by putting the right people, processes, and capabilities in place, which in return creates sustainable success for your lab.
Staffing and Benchmarking
Labor is one of the most significant fixed costs for every clinical or hospital-based laboratory. How you develop, compensate, and benchmark your full-time equivalent (FTE) employees against industry standards can make a dramatic impact on the margins and financial health of your business. Colaborate engages a set of proprietary staffing and compensation tools to maximize the potential of your workforce, including pathology professionals.
- Compensation Analysis: Colaborate analyzes and assists in the design of compensation, incentive, and productivity models for all types of physician specialties.
- Workflow Analysis: Colaborate produces accurate and timely information to give physicians the performance and laboratory information necessary to provide adequate patient treatment.
Lab Checkup
Understand how your lab is performing against the industry. Colaborate’s free lab check up is designed to give you clarity and precision for confident decision-making. The process creates insight into quality, performance, and information technology and generates a checklist of focus areas, performance status, and unbiased, expert recommendations on topics including:
- Automation
- Billing
- Compliance
- Core lab
- Efficiency
- IT systems
- Lab design
- Lab results
- Outreach programs
- Pathology programs
- Staffing
- True lab costs
- Workflow
Interim Management
Your clinical or hospital-based laboratory business cannot run with critical gaps in personnel. Colaborate employs industry experts with years of experience in the day-to-day management of complex laboratory operations. To ensure maximum laboratory improvement, we can step in to provide interim solutions, even on short notice, until you can identify, hire, and train the right permanent team members.
- Billing Manager
- CFO
- Compliance Officer
- Controller
- IT Manager
- Lab Manager
- Outreach Management
Outreach Operations Guidance
One of the best ways to capitalize on your laboratory investment is by lowering costs per test, and one of the best ways to do that is by expanding your laboratory outreach capabilities. Colaborate creates and executes productive outreach programs that include a host of reliable, manageable marketing and sales strategies:
- Brand development
- Marketing assistance
- Market analysis
- Pricing strategies
- Sales development and training
- Sales management
Core Laboratory Development and Consolidations
As health systems grasp the promising dynamics of their laboratories, the option and challenge of developing a core laboratory become important considerations.
Colaborate is experienced with the structure and function of clinical and hospital-based laboratories. For new core laboratories, we provide analysis, development, and implementation support. For existing and underperforming core entities, we provide organizational and fiscal improvement support that spans resource acquisition, reorganization, and test menu analysis to create lasting change.
- Instrumentation Selection: Colaborate is a knowledgeable and unbiased partner that can help you identify and acquire laboratory instruments that meet your financial and workforce needs in the near and long term.
- Outreach Programs: Building an outreach program with margins exceeding 20% takes professional management, a sound marketing plan, and an efficient support infrastructure. We will work with you to build a profitable, competitive outreach program.
- Reorganizations: Colaborate has successfully helped numerous hospital systems to create and institute expanded laboratory outreach programs that capitalize on laboratory investments by lowering costs per test.
- Test Menu Analysis: Having the correct mix of tests readily available to your customers’ needs is essential to your business viability. Colaborate helps with “make vs. buy” analysis and evaluating and instituting the most cost-effective menu comprised of in-house and referenced out tests.
Laboratory Quality Assurance
A critical part to enhancing laboratory performance, laboratory quality improvement requires discipline, planning, performance strategies, measurement, and consistent improvement. The Colaborate team of experts is certified and experienced in the most reliable quality assurance and agility strategies in the marketplace. We can ensure you have the capabilities and support to establish priorities, transmit policy, promote cultural health, allocate resources, communicate lessons learned, and resolve management issues that could hinder your progress.
- Lean Transformation: Assess, train, and facilitate the implementation of best practice Lean methods to make it easier for people to perform at the highest possible level in the lab.
- Six Sigma: Colaborate’s Third Generation Lean Six Sigma program creates value by combining “best-of-breed” in manufacturing with content experts in laboratory management, and creating sustainable improvement that continues beyond our involvement.
- Total Quality Management (TQM): TQM enables constant quality improvement for the entire organization by establishing quality and efficiency in every aspect by focusing on eight key elements.
Laboratory Operations & Growth
What does laboratory management consulting include?
Laboratory management consulting helps labs and health systems improve how they operate, from day-to-day efficiency to long-term financial performance. It covers the strategic and operational decisions that determine whether a lab runs well and grows, or falls behind.
Colaborate’s management consulting engagements typically focus on:
- Laboratory benchmarking against industry performance standards
- Workflow redesign and automation strategy
- Staffing models and workforce planning
- Quality improvement programs (e.g. Lean Six Sigma)
- Revenue cycle analysis and billing optimization
- Test menu strategy, including send-out and reference lab analysis
- Core lab development, consolidation, and integration
We’ve worked with over 500 institutions, from independent labs looking to reduce costs to health systems consolidating operations across multiple sites. Our consultants bring direct lab management experience, so recommendations come from people who’ve run labs, not just reviewed them. Learn more on our Performance Improvement and Laboratory Management pages.
Does Colaborate work with hospitals and health systems?
Yes. Since 2005, we’ve served over 500 institutions including hospitals, academic medical centers, and large health system laboratory networks. Our enterprise services go well beyond startup consulting:
- Health system and laboratory integration planning
- Management Services Agreements (MSAs)
- Interim leadership placement (Lab Manager, CFO, Compliance Officer, IT Manager)
- Executive advisory and leadership development
- Laboratory benchmarking against industry standards
- LIS selection, implementation, and systems integration
Our team includes consultants with direct experience managing hospital-based and commercial laboratory operations. Learn more on our Health System Integrations page.
What is a laboratory outreach program?
A laboratory outreach program allows a hospital or health system lab to accept specimens from external physician offices, clinics, and other providers outside its own network. It turns your lab from a cost center into a revenue-generating operation by increasing test volume and lowering your cost per test.
Building a successful outreach program involves market analysis, pricing strategy, sales development, brand positioning, and an efficient support infrastructure. Done well, outreach programs can generate margins exceeding 20%.
Colaborate helps labs build and grow outreach programs from the ground up, including marketing strategy, sales management, and ongoing operational support. We also advise labs looking to sell or acquire outreach programs through our M&A Advisory practice.
Can Colaborate help with laboratory mergers and aquisitions?
Yes. We’ve advised on laboratory transactions for health systems, commercial labs, private equity groups, and venture capital firms on both the buy and sell side. Our M&A services include:
- Laboratory valuation and financial analysis
- Due diligence (operations, compliance, financial, IT)
- Buyer identification and go-to-market strategy
- Deal structuring and negotiation support
- Post-acquisition integration and transition planning
Our advantage is subject matter expertise. We understand laboratory operations, compliance requirements, and the regulatory landscape in a way that general M&A advisors don’t. That translates to better due diligence and smoother integrations. Learn more on our Lab M&A and Outreach Advisory pages.