STAT Testing: Rapid Results, Reliable Care

Through this article, Pinkston and Codoy, discusses the growing demand for STAT testing in healthcare, emphasizing its critical role in emergency and critical care where swift results can be lifesaving. They also emphasize on how faster diagnosis not only facilitates immediate treatment decisions but reduces patient stress, enhances satisfaction and improves healthcare outcomes like shorter hospital stays.

The demand for STAT testing is not just increasing. It is reaching a critical point. Pathologists and clinicians are under immense pressure to deliver faster treatment and alleviate the anxiety associated with waiting for test results. This urgency is vital in high-stakes environments like critical care, where swift results can be lifesaving, facilitating immediate and effective treatment decisions. Beyond these life-saving capabilities, a faster diagnosis through STAT testing can significantly reduce patient stress, enhance overall satisfaction and contribute to better healthcare outcomes, such as improved recovery rates and shorter hospital stays. These compelling advantages drive the growing reliance on STAT testing across healthcare settings.

However, amid these advantages, STAT testing presents notable challenges that cannot be overlooked. The race to deliver rapid results intrinsically heightens the risk of errors, including false positives or negatives, which can have dire consequences for patient care. These risks are not just potential, they are real and can have severe consequences. They are exacerbated by existing difficulties in laboratory settings, including chronic staff shortages and worker burnout. As highlighted in Bryan Hanson’s article from the QuidelOrtho 2024 guest editorial, the shortage of medical technologists stems from factors such as low wages, retirements and declining enrollment in training programs, creating significant obstacles in meeting the increasing demand for STAT testing.

Despite these challenges, STAT testing is invaluable, especially in emergency and critical care scenarios where its timely benefits often outweigh potential drawbacks. Implementing structured processes and ensuring adequate resources are crucial to harnessing its full potential while prioritizing quality and precision. One vital component is positive patient identification (PPID). This involves meticulous specimen labeling with two unique identifiers—such as date of birth and medical record number—to prevent misidentification and ensure patients receive the correct treatment.

Furthermore, maintaining highquality histopathological control is crucial for preserving specimen integrity and ensuring reliable results. This involves accurate fixation, meticulous tissue processing and a level of attention to detail that avoids artifacts and misdiagnoses. Monitoring quality metrics is also pivotal in a successful STAT testing program. Setting benchmarks for turnaround times, regularly assessing error rates, providing ongoing staff training and efficiently managing resources are essential steps in accommodating both STAT and routine testing requirements.

A 2024 article by Thomas L. Rodziewicz et al., published by the National Library of Medicine, underscores the critical issue of medical errors, emphasizing their status as a significant public health challenge and a leading cause of preventable deaths. This highlights the paramount importance of a patient safety-focused approach in STAT testing. Laboratories must embrace methodical and precise practices to ensure that the advantages of STAT testing do not come at the expense of quality patient care.

Quality-focused patient safety is of utmost importance. While speed is essential in STAT testing, it must never compromise accuracy and quality, as dependable results are foundational for effective and safe patient outcomes. By prioritizing quality and safety measures, healthcare providers can balance the urgency of STAT testing with the imperative for precision and reliability, ultimately enhancing patient care and safety outcomes. This approach ensures that the full spectrum of benefits associated with STAT testing is realized while safeguarding against potential risks.