CLN Daily 2024
In light of ongoing staffing shortages, burnout among laboratorians, and an aging workforce, many facilities are looking to do more testing with less hands-on labor. One way to accomplish that is by implementing automated processes, equipment, and/or instrumentation. While automation is already a well-established mainstay in clinical chemistry and hematology departments, its adoption has lagged in clinical microbiology.
Since total laboratory automation (TLA) is relatively new in microbiology, many laboratorians may find the idea of implementing an automated system daunting. In this afternoon's session, “Microbes Meet Machines: Total Laboratory Automation in Clinical Microbiology,” Caitlin Otto, PhD, and Jamie Lemon hope to make the prospect of TLA seem less overwhelming. They will share their experiences with the two platforms that are currently available for use in clinical microbiology laboratories.
After introducing attendees to the concept of total laboratory automation, Otto will describe how she implemented digital bacteriology at her laboratory with the WASPLab® Full Lab Automation System by Copan Diagnostics Inc. Lemon will then discuss the challenges and successes she navigated while applying the BD KiestraTM Total Lab Automation System to her facility.
Integrating a TLA system requires significant capital as well as investments in the personnel and informatics resources needed to build and maintain the system. Otto and Lemon will talk about why their facilities elected to implement TLA in the microbiology departments, how they decided which system to purchase, and what important lessons they learned along the way.
Additionally, they will highlight the benefits of TLA, address the pitfalls associated with workflow changes driven by laboratory automation, and identify areas for potential future improvement of both systems to bridge these gaps. They will dispel the age-old fear that incorporating automation will remove human jobs.
Rather, implementing automation in more areas of the laboratory could allow the existing workforce to grow with the volume of testing being performed. For example, according to Lemon, more than 2,400 urine cultures are performed per day in the high-volume core laboratory at Northwell Health, a volume that would not be possible without a TLA system and the diligent laboratory personnel required to operate it.
It is important for laboratory professionals to understand all that is needed to implement and maintain an automated system, and to carefully weigh any drawbacks against the potential advantages. Attendees at this session will leave knowing the critical questions to ask themselves when considering TLA in a microbiology setting.