Work flow analysis: audit of the turn around time in chemical pathology in a tertiary care hospital

ABSTRACT

A retrospective analysis of the laboratory results was performed to explore the turnaround time [TAT] for the laboratory services. The TAT for specimens arriving at the main laboratory from wards, main laboratory and critical care areas was noted and compared with the standard set for reporting. Median TAT for results of 169 blood samples was on average 195 min [n=170], 172 min [n=169], 121 min [n=167] from main lab, wards and for STAT samples from critical care areas respectively. Median analytical time was 170 min, 105 min, and 72 min from main lab, from wards and for STAT samples respectively. This TAT is within acceptable limits according to the standard sets. However, high transport time from critical care areas [median 49 min] was noted, which can be further improved if the portering and transport arrangements of the specimens are made more effective