Preparing for the future: a case study of role changing and reengineering. Recognize and seize the new opportunities

Today's laboratory managers are caught in the midst of a tumultuous environment as a result of managed care, mergers and acquisitions, and downsizing. We must prepare ourselves through continuous learning, recognize the marketable value of our skills outside of the laboratory, and seize opportunities to expand into new roles. At Arkansas Children's Hospital, the Chief Executive Officer selected the Administrative Director of Laboratories to reengineer the General Pediatric Center. Our goals were to improve quality of care, efficiency, teamwork, clinic visit times, and satisfaction of patients, staff, and physicians. We developed ideal objectives from surveys, brainstorming sessions, and interviews to serve as guidelines for reengineering teams. Teams met the goals and 12 of 15 ideal objectives. Patient flow redesign resulted in different processes for different patient populations and a 35% decrease in the average clinic visit time. Patient, staff, and physician satisfaction improved, as did the clinic's financial status. The project's success confirms that our leadership and analytical skills are transferable from the laboratory to carry us to new heights in other health-care arenas.