U.S. Lab Professionals Indicate Urgency for Automated Microbiology Solutions

DURHAM, N.C. — bioMerieux recently conducted a survey during the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) General Meeting to gauge in the demand for lab automation.

More than 75 percent of respondents said they planned to add new microbiology lab automation solutions to their laboratories within the next year. Of the professionals surveyed, 57 percent indicated they most needed automated solutions for specimen and culture set up and urine screening for negative cultures.

Labs are working to become more efficient and implement options for streamlining operations and reducing costs, while coping with increasing workload volumes and the demand for faster results from clinicians.

The key factors that were cited as important when selecting an automated solution: accuracy, standardization, improved workflow and productivity, decreased transcription errors and traceability for auditing purposes.

"The study results confirm that automation's time has come,” said Herb Steward, executive vice president and general manager, bioMerieux.

Survey respondents indicated that the main reasons for looking at automated solutions include faster turn around time. Labor savings from excessive overtime and improved test-result accuracy tied for second place. In addition, more than 70 percent of respondents indicated they would shift employee focus away from labor-intensive tasks to more sophisticated responsibilities if they had more automated solutions.