Volume 38 Number 2 | April 2024

Victoria Roop, MLS (ASCP)CM, ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor

Victoria RoopLaboratory professionals are driven to provide accurate and timely objective data to clinicians and patients alike to help aid in diagnoses and treatment plans. The COVID-19 pandemic has moved mountains in technological advances and transformed modern laboratory practices and visibility to the role laboratory professionals play in healthcare decision-making.1 Door County Medical Center (DCMC) opened a COVID-19 collection and vaccination site due to the pandemic and the desperate needs of the community to provide safer and more efficient services. As the number of positive cases  decreased, so did the need to have a collection site open, and DCMC was ready to close that chapter. However, the laboratory had an idea, as Director of Ancillary Services Jane Metko said, “Instead of moving the COVID-19 testing site into the hospital, we thought bringing other services to the COVID-19 Drive-Thru would create greater staffing efficiency while simultaneously improving patient access—that is how the laboratory drive-thru was born.”2

Now over a year later, the laboratory drive-thru is thriving. Phlebotomy staff rotate through their shifts both at the main Sturgeon Bay Clinic location and the drive-thru garage. A lot of work went into the planning and reinvention of a garage space that was not intended to be a permanent setup from COIVD-19 testing. In addition, the laboratory team has taken feedback from the community and built the space to replicate a professional healthcare facility to give a more comforting atmosphere to both patients and the employees. It has become a fast and convenient option for Door County residents.2 Patients can either call or log into their patient portal to schedule a laboratory drive-thru appointment.

Technological advancements with electronic order processing have now also made it possible for patients to drive-up without an appointment to get their lab work done. When the patient arrives, they follow the signs and drive into the garage, just like a car wash. The phlebotomist greets every patient and collects the samples. Then the patients are on their way. Samples are walked back to the main hospital laboratory team to process and test. Results will automatically appear on the patient’s portal for quick access.

This is a rare, ground-breaking revolution for laboratory services. In fact, DCMC was the second laboratory drive-thru in the state of Wisconsin to open its doors!2 Patients who have children or pets with them, or who live in icy winter elements like Wisconsin, can bring them. And patients who even have mobility issues can have easier access to their healthcare needs.2 The laboratory drive-thru continues to grow and transform with increasing popularity, and healthcare professionals need to adapt to those changes.3

References
  1. Wilson, S., Steele, S. and Adeli, K. (2022) “Innovative technological advancements in laboratory medicine: Predicting the lab of the future,” Biotechnology, biotechnological equipment, 36(sup1), pp. S9–S21. doi: 10.1080/13102818.2021.2011413.
  2. Quick and convenient: DCMC’s laboratory drive-thru coming soon! (no date) Door County Medical Center. Available at: https://www.dcmedical.org/blog/september-2022/quick-and-convenient-dcmc-laboratorydrive-thru (Accessed: January 31, 2024).
  3. New science: Drive-through phlebotomy labs (2021) Phlebotomytraining.org. PhlebotomyTraining.org. Available at: https://www.phlebotomytraining.org/articles/drive-through-phlebotomy-labs/ (Accessed: January 31, 2024).

Victoria Roop is Laboratory Manager at Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Door County Medical Center drive-thru laboratory

Door County Medical Center drive-thru laboratory map

The Door County Medical Center converted its COVID-19 collection site to a laboratory drive-thru, where patients can schedule an appointment in advance or drive up without an appointment to get their lab work done.