Laboratory Medicine is essential for screening, diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of diseases. To support routine and complex medical test driven decision making and patient management on a 24/7 basis, academic diagnostic labs are generally located in the hospital and possess a technology-rich lab infrastructure. To fulfill the clinical needs of patients and treating physicians, the interphase between the lab and clinical and outpatient hospital wards should be established in a safe, efficient and cost-effective way. On top, a high degree of standardization, robotization and automation of the Diagnostic Testing Process is essential considering the 21st century test volumes and quality requirements.
In this keynote lecture the Leiden University Medical Centre vision on laboratory medicine, the conceptual approach used for redesigning the Diagnostic Testing Process hospital wide, as well as the final configuration of the renewed laboratory facility will be explained. Key requirements underpinning such high end solutions for diagnostic testing processes are robust partnerships with all relevant stakeholders of the diagnostic testing pipeline and process flexibility by design, to enable further innovation during the lifetime cycle of the hardware in the renewed laboratory.
Prof. Dr. Christa Cobbaert, LUMC