Your hospital already has a laboratory stewardship committee – Utilization Review.

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Your hospital already has a laboratory stewardship committee – Utilization Review.

Around 10 years ago I started a laboratory stewardship committee in my healthcare system by writing a charter and seeking Medical Executive Committee approval for the committee.  As you can imagine it took some work to go through the process of creating a new committee and gaining enough buy-in to convince people to attend.  Is there another way to create a laboratory stewardship committee that forgoes the challenges of writing a charter?  The answer is yes.  In fact, it’s highly likely your hospital already has a laboratory stewardship committee you might never have heard of before.  Under CMS rules and regulations 482.30 most hospitals are required to have a Utilization Review (UR) committee.  Typically, these committees are focused on issues such as readmissions, length of stay and other similar topics.  However, in paragraph (f) of CMS 482.30 this committee is also responsible for “review of professional services” to “determine medical necessity and to promote the most efficient use of available health facilities and services.”  Laboratory stewardship issues are a natural fit for UR committees.  Rather than writing a charter and pursuing a standalone committee, a laboratory can provide stewardship data to the existing UR committee.  CMS rules and regulations 482.30 provides a mechanism for laboratory stewardship to contribute to overall hospital utilization review.

Andrew Fletcher

As the former medical director of ARUP Consultative Services, Dr. Andrew Fletcher is focused on laboratory stewardship, laboratory efficiency, and outreach growth. He has experience in leading quality initiatives that enhance organizations’ safety and value and has helped develop laboratory stewardship programs throughout the U.S. Dr. Fletcher has received numerous awards for quality and utilization, including research grants for blood utilization and is the recipient of the 2021 ASCP Choosing Wisely Award.

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