During the pandemic, nonprofit laboratory TriCore processed more than 50% of all COVID-19 tests in New Mexico. By 2022, the worst was over, but employees were burned out. Turnover rose to 32% overall and 45% in some departments.
To avoid disruptions in patient care, newly appointed CEO Robin Divine filled staffing gaps with expensive contract labor. But this expense, coupled with rising inflation, caused TriCore’s wage and supply costs to jump 22%.
Joining Vistage that year, Divine shared her dilemma with other CEOs in her peer advisory group. She explained TriCore couldn’t raise prices to make up for rising costs since insurance companies reimbursed laboratory services based on a set fee schedule. “My Vistage group would remind me, ‘Accept what you can’t change,’” she recalls, “but ask yourself what is working.’”
The answer: TriCore’s technology transformation, an initiative more than 10 years in the making. In a post pandemic world, the laboratory industry was primed for innovation, and TriCore had a head start on automating its processes.
For example, instead of relying on staff to transport specimens to the appropriate lab in a building, TriCore delegated the task to two robots, Bisco and Chito. “They’re pretty smart,” says Divine. “They even go up and down the elevator on their own.”
Another instrument, the Walk-Away Specimen Processor, can review hundreds of cultures at a time and alert scientists when it detects markers of infectious disease. “It’s not replacing the human,” Divine explains. “It’s making the human more efficient so they can focus on the cases that require more advanced interpretation.” Turnaround times have since decreased by 13-15 hours, “which is the difference between someone getting an antibiotic for an infection in one day versus two,” says Divine.
More recently, TriCore installed an instrument that performs pipetting — a process that involves transferring liquid in a sample — to speed up processing times and eliminate the risk of repetitive-use injury for a lab technician. Another machine scans barcodes on samples and loads them onto trays so they’re ready for testing in the right section of the lab.
TriCore has also invested in tools that digitize images of biopsies so pathologists don’t have to travel from lab to lab to view them under a microscope. “Healthcare access in New Mexico is challenged by a tightening pool of physicians, pathologists included,” says Divine. “This technology saves time, gives pathologists flexibility and increases their capacity.” Next, she and her team are exploring AI-powered tools that provide baseline readings, which a pathologist can later confirm or reject.
TriCore has instituted automation across its 18 laboratories statewide, helping to process more than 13 million tests per year. Combined with workflow optimization, these investments have increased productivity and improved employee retention, says Divine, noting that turnover has declined to 12.4%, and employees are more engaged with their work. “My mantra is that I want people to work at the highest level of their education or credentials.”
Recently, Divine took her Vistage group on a tour of her lab. “When my cohort came through,” she says, “there was shock and awe at how automated we are.”
In a Vistage survey of 1,626 small and midsize business CEOs, 37% reported seeing productivity improvements in their companies during the previous 12 months. Of these, 63% anticipated increased profitability, 72% expected increased revenues and 30% had higher employee retention.
