About BioReference Laboratories
BioReference Laboratories, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OPKO Health, is a clinical laboratory that provides testing and related services for the healthcare sector in the United States.
The company works with physicians, clinics, hospitals, care facilities, employers, and government organizations to collect, analyze, and report tests that aid in the diagnosis of approximately 11 million patients each year.
When COVID-19 hit, demand for BioReference’s testing services increased dramatically. BioReference responded by delivering on-the-ground patient testing at 17 pop-up facilities, in addition to providing overall COVID-19 testing services, which saw as many as 1,000 people each day.
Challenge:
BioReference needed a flexible scheduling platform with the capacity to manage thousands of bookings
When the world came under siege following the COVID-19 outbreak, BioReference found itself on the frontline. As a leader in sample collection and testing, the New Jersey-based company was called upon to assist public and private entities with test collection and analysis.
Vinny Pacione, BioReference’s Director of Consumer Digital, says, “The traditional paradigm of sample collection shifted dramatically during COVID-19; it was no longer the normal doctor/patient situation. We were thrust into a new operating mode and had to mobilize quickly to meet demands.”
“The panic level was also very high in the beginning. Initially, we had to shut down all patient service centers until there were defined protocols, such as social distancing. New York then led the way with a drive-thru swab testing model which worked well.”
Vinny says it was the rise in serology (blood) testing that cemented BioReference’s need for an effective scheduling system.
The paperless solution included:
- Self-service customer access to book a location-based appointment in an available time slot
- Confirmation and reminders of the appointment
- A unique QR code that linked to the person’s booking details
When the customer arrives for their appointment, the caregiver scans their QR code and moves the person quickly through the test-taking process. It’s completely contact-free to help meet social distancing guidelines, and removes the need for manual data entry to accelerate the process by almost 50%.
Vinny agrees and says Skedulo has made it much easier for staff at each facility to keep queues down.
“You can imagine—during an 8 hour period we may have over 1,000 people that we need to get in and out the door while maintaining social distancing. This would have been impossible without a robust scheduling system. We’d be looking at 10 minutes or more for every person, which reduces our capacity by half.”
“By using Skedulo, we can get people in and out in 5 or 6 minutes. With our QR code system linking to the initial booking, there was also no need for manual data entry by staff at the facilities. The amount of data entry went down, and data accuracy went up.”
Outside of COVID-19, Vinny says deploying Skedulo has helped BioReference meet other business demands. “The flexibility of Skedulo has been infinitely valuable in helping us accomplish our goals. We can white label and custom tailor it out-of-the-box for our customers who may need very specific experiences around COVID-19.”
Advice for others managing high capacity scheduling during COVID-19
Susan and Vinny acknowledge there is still lots to be done in testing for COVID-19 and hope testing will help the country reopen as fast as possible.
In preparing testing providers in other states for the months ahead, Susan says, “It’s vital to understand what’s happening on the ground and how long a transaction will take. In the pandemic, people are not averse to lining up. But we also don’t want them waiting. So knowing how long a transaction takes and how to book in people to minimize wait lines is important.”
“Don’t underestimate data,” says Vinny. “Have a way to capture, analyze, and leverage data to shape operations and a plan to do so right from the outset. In the early days, everyone was operating on a wing and a prayer. Now we can have a plan and specific ways to define, measure, analyze, and improve which is key to success.”
