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(Jon) Hello, and welcome to Take Five with The Joint Commission.
I'm your host, Jon DePaolis,
In this episode, we will be discussing
the Leading Laboratories Recognition Program.
This new program was announced in October 2021
in collaboration with the American Society for Clinical Pathology.
The designation will showcase Joint Commission accredited laboratories'
meaningful achievements in improving patient outcomes.
Joining me is Heather Hurley,
The Joint Commission's Executive Director of Laboratory Accreditation.
Heather, welcome to the show.
(Heather) Jon, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
(Jon) So jumping right in,
Heather, what is the Leading Laboratories Program,
and what went into The Joint Commission and ASCP collaborating to create it.
(Heather) Oh, it's a great question, Jon, thank you.
The Leading Laboratories Program is a recognition program,
again, in partnership between ASCP and the Joint Commission.
It really is the only program of its kind that provides detailed proof
of organization's commitment to building teams
and helping to excel in enhancing patient care.
The Leading Laboratories Program was developed by three ASCP luminaries,
and The Joint Commission and ASCP have been partnering on this initiative
for the last two years throughout the pandemic.
I'm super excited and pleased to say
that we did officially launch the program in late October,
which occurred at the ASCP Annual Meeting in Boston.
I also wanted to touch on why ASCP and The Joint Commission
collaborated on this program.
ASCP and The Joint Commission both share in our commitment to providing
the safest and highest quality of patient care,
which made our collaboration like no other.
We're committed to building stronger teams,
more resilient laboratory teams, and the development of team members.
We're stronger together
in helping to elevate the role of medical laboratories
within that clinical care team and healthcare systems.
Between The Joint Commission being the largest and oldest accrediting body,
and ASCP's 100 years of influence,
and the evolution of pathology in laboratory medicine
really spoke to why our organizations had such synergies,
and our collaboration is really like no other on this program.
(Jon) What are some of the key areas of the Leading Laboratories Program?
(Heather) Of course. There's four key components
that make up the Leading Laboratories Program.
It starts foundationally with quality outcomes.
And each of the components builds upon each other.
So, again, foundationally quality outcomes.
Then we move into the component about professional development
and the development of our laboratory team members,
which then builds upon trusted leadership.
So really, this spoke to me as an employee of The Joint Commission
and our practice of safety culture
really fell into that trusted leadership component.
And then last: laboratory visibility.
Each of these components can see multiple outcomes and metrics
and require evidence as part of the application process
for the recognition program.
I wanted to highlight, too,
that there's several ways to meet the criteria for each of these components.
It allows organizations the flexibility to meet that criteria,
and that laboratories of all size and scope
can have the opportunity to become a leading laboratory
and achieve the designation.
(Jon) You know, the impact of laboratories
sometimes can go under the radar of organizations.
What are some of the ways
that the achievements of these clinical team members
can lead to better patient outcomes?
(Heather) Sure. This really speaks to me because I do think
that the laboratories is an underappreciated area
and the role that they play in patient care.
They're not the clinicians at the bedside.
But we know that 70% of all medical decisions
are based off of the laboratory tests.
Quality care really starts within the laboratory.
And the four components of the Leading Laboratories Program
really do impact the role of the laboratory
and ultimately support better patient outcome.
Again, as I spoke before, the foundational quality outcome
is first and foremost,
and builds upon the foundation of accreditation.
Again, then the program builds upon itself with professional development,
supporting staff growth, education, trusted leadership,
and then last, but certainly not least, is that laboratory visibility,
which also promotes the role of laboratory medicine
outside the walls of the laboratory within the greater clinical care setting
and within our community and amongst our patients.
(Jon) This next one is a kind of macro question.
How can Joint Commission accreditation set laboratories up for success?
(Heather) Sure, this is great.
I think the one thing that always comes to mind first
that we set laboratories up for success
is really around The Joint Commission's unique survey process.
It supports the role of the laboratory team
in a greater context of patient care.
We talk about our tracer methodology,
and it really looks at the entire process both pre and post analytic.
It's not just looking within the confines of the walls of the laboratory
and the analytic process.
It really is looking both pre and post
and helps identify gaps that occur within the transition
between the laboratory and other clinicians.
Communication is always key, and I think our tracer methodology
allows organizations the opportunity to identify those barriers or gaps
that they may have,
and allows them to break down those communication silos
and better support safe and high-quality patient care.
(Jon) Heather, where can people go to find out more
about the Leading Laboratories Program?
(Heather) Absolutely.
To find out more about the Leading Laboratories Recognition Program
between ASCP and The Joint Commission,
you can go to the Leading Laboratories web page.
It's leadinglaboratories.org
(Jon) Heather, thanks so much for coming on the show today.
(Heather) Jon, thanks for having me. It was a pleasure to be here.
(Jon) Other episodes of this program are available
on The Joint Commission's website at www. jointcommission.org.
Also, be sure to check back in with Take Five in the new year,
as we will have a special episode going more in-depth
on this new Leading Laboratories Program.
But for now, thank you as always for listening.
This has been Take Five with The Joint Commission.
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