Analyze This: Ambitious Pathology Project Advances System Integration
The implementation of a robotic lab line in Albany Medical Center’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine has advanced a System goal: the integration of pathology services across all four hospitals, an effort recently augmented by the launch of a new patient electronic medical record (EMR), Epic.
The lab line, which went live in December, uses robotics to quickly and efficiently analyze blood samples between different labs within the department. At present, it can sort specimens based on chemistry, coagulation, and hematology, with plans to add additional functionality in the future. The line uses an estimated 180 feet of linear track throughout the lab at Albany Medical Center, processing over 7,000 samples per day, around the clock.
“The lab line is the foundation to moving forward with a bigger project over the next couple years,” said John DePaola, senior vice president of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services for the Albany Med Health System. “We’ve gotten the go-ahead from our four
hospital CEOs to look at opportunities to collaborate amongst the four laboratories to work more closely together.”
DePaola said that collaboration has taken the form of an ongoing project called the “Regional Reference Lab.” The aim of the project is to align and coordinate all lab services across the System, piece by piece. This phased approach will lead to a more streamlined and efficient operation, which is good for patients and clients, and will help grow the service line by referring business to existing labs within the System.
DePaola said the lab line and Regional Reference Lab are also integrated into Epic, allowing blood tests and other results to be posted quickly into a patient’s record. Before Epic, there was no unified EMR across the four System hospitals, a circumstance DePaola said would have made this project impossible.
“Epic has really brought us together,” he said.
The project is designed to take advantage of Albany Medical Center’s advanced capabilities, while providing expert analysis to all patients, regardless of how complicated their condition is or where they live. A core goal is for the integrated lab to produce better and faster results, leading to more favorable medical outcomes across the System.
One example of this dynamic in practice is that basic lab work will be reviewed at individual hospitals, while more complicated cases will be reviewed at Albany Medical Center via a system of medical couriers. This aspect of the project will lead to better services for people who live in more rural areas, where it may be harder for local providers to perform complicated blood tests.
Seeing Opportunity
In formatting the Regional Reference Lab, DePaola and colleagues researched programs developed at health systems across the country.
Another driver of the project, Richard Vandell, strategic director of Laboratory Integration, said the System has the most blood draw
sites of any organization in the Capital Region, potential that is just waiting to be harnessed.
“We believe we have the ability to reduce our costs and increase our revenues by keeping more business inside the System,” said Vandell.
“By aggregating volumes from across the System, we can achieve economies of scale.”
He added that another of the project’s goals is to declutter and simplify the test menu and results so that testing options and outcomes
are clearer to providers.
“We want to reduce confusion, reduce steps in the process, have less variability in the process, and ultimately, that’s going to improve the quality of the service as well,” said Vandell.
Strength in Unity
DePaola said that Albany Medical Center’s pathology department alone processes over eight million specimens per year, making it the largest pathology services provider in the region. But the existing, siloed approach is hampering growth. For Depaola, this integration project is just another piece of the puzzle in making the System whole.
“This would be the first time we would have clinical integration across all four hospitals for ancillary services,” he said. “This is where
the System is heading, this is how a System should act.”
Vandell said unifying the labs is the next logical step from a business and services standpoint.
Lab Line Only the Beginning
DePaola and Vandell credited their colleague, Joseph Sorce, with being the main force behind getting the lab line up and running at
Albany Medical Center. Sorce, the lab service administrative director for the System, said the process was somewhat fraught but ultimately rewarding, as he was able to convince three different medical technology companies to work together to build the line.
“The instruments and software are from different companies, different vendors,” said Sorce. While similar mixing and matching
of components has occurred successfully in Europe, he added, such a system is much less common in the states. “We’re one of the
first labs in the U.S. to have this technology,” said Sorce.
Sorce and Vandell said the lab line is safer for technicians, who no longer have to physically handle individual samples, all while reducing mistakes by taking human error largely out of the equation.
“Ultimately, a person will not have to actually touch the specimen in most cases,” said Vandell. “This line is so much more sophisticated than any of its predecessors.”
Looking Ahead
The Regional Reference Lab project will proceed in three phases, the first of which began in January and will run through the end of the year. Goals for 2025 include unifying the leadership structure of the different labs, coordinating clinical services, standardizing supplies, equipment and vendor contracts, and integrating a budget plan for 2026.
Additional phases to stabilize and grow the Regional Reference Lab will follow in 2026 and beyond. There are also plans to upgrade
lab equipment and information systems throughout the process.