May 21, 2020
Dr. Wes Wong, hc1 Director of Clinical Affairs, recently joined Dr. Lee Hilborne, Senior Medical Director, Medical Affairs, for Quest Diagnostics, to discuss COVID-19 lab testing and reporting.
With laboratory tests guiding up to 70 percent of all medical decisions, improvements in appropriate test selection in compliance with evidence-based guidelines have the power to radically improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.1
“Clinicians need to know right away how to manage their patients. Laboratory data are critical to understanding those trends and how to plan for day to day patient management,” Dr. Hilborne told moderator Erin Monteverde, Executive Director, Quest Information Ventures. “Public health officials also need the data for clinical decision making.”
In September 2019, Quest and hc1 teamed up to launch Quest Lab Stewardship, powered by hc1. Quest Lab Stewardship goes beyond basic reporting and empowers physicians, lab administrators, and medical leadership with real-time, actionable insights to help drive targeted improvements in overall test utilization, lab operations, and patient outcomes.
hc1 recently worked with Quest to add a special COVID-19 reporting dashboard to Quest Lab Stewardship. The dashboard displays data for SARS-CoV2 molecular tests, so users can monitor detected, not detected and inconclusive testing, as well as percent positivity in a daily or weekly view.
“As we see the flattening of the curve, we start entering the longitudinal phase of care,” said Dr. Wong. “We need to look at in terms of immunity, vaccinations and even treatment effectiveness. With the right data we can combat this and actually prepare better for the next potential wave or even the next pathogen.”
Click here to learn more about Quest Lab Stewardship powered by hc1 and watch the video featuring Dr. Wong and Dr. Hilborne.
Resources
1. Misialek MJ. (2017 May 19). The cost of laboratory testing. Costs of Care. http://costsofcare.org/the-cost-of-laboratory-testing/.
