From 2020 onwards, largely due to Covid-19, we have seen a fundamental shift in strategy in the way we run clinical laboratories and an exponential growth in the use of mobile labs. Already used heavily for public clinics and blood donations, mobile labs have become a crucial part of the medical landscape when it comes to providing flexible and accessible care to areas that may be underserved.

Mobile labs provide flexibility, outreach, and public presence that isn’t always the case with a brick-and-mortar location. Mobile labs often are faced with complications that are not present at permanent locations. Lack of space and an inconsistent staffing pool remain persistent issues that can be exacerbated by the mobile laboratory model.

We’ve worked with many organizations with a mobile lab component over the years and these are some of the best ways we’ve seen organizations overcome these roadblocks.

Digitizing Key Documents

In a mobile setting where space is at a premium, you don’t want to have to devote shelf space to binders full of procedures, charts, or intake forms. This is especially true if the patients you’re serving are not going to be returning anytime soon, or if your mobile laboratory rotates locations. Having a digitized cloud-based system for handling all your SOPs and critical information provides convenience and tangible time savings for your staff and your organization.

The Persistent Challenge of Mobile Scheduling

One of the other main challenges of the mobile lab system is how difficult it can be to consistently source personnel to work at these sites. If you’re relying on traditional scheduling methods like spreadsheets and posted schedules, it can create workflow inefficiencies and bottlenecks. One solution is to digitize your scheduling program.

Employees who can view their schedule on a computer or mobile device instead of having to rely on a physically posted schedule are going to benefit, since they can go directly to their assignments instead of having to come into a permanent location first.

Another roadblock often encountered is one of morale and availability. Mobile locations can place a great deal of stress on employees who may have to commute further to the mobile lab than they would to a permanent location. Building a scheduling rotation to ensure that all employees are sharing the responsibility equally maintains morale and promotes fair distribution.

Mobile labs are one of our best and most flexible resources when it comes to quickly responding to emergencies or providing easily accessible services and the personnel that work them are passionate professionals. It is imperative to have policies and practices that scaffold and support them and implementing these changes will help contribute to greater efficiency, stability, and connectivity in your organization’s mobile laboratory program.