Medical Device Link.

INSTRUMENTATION DEVELOPMENT

By automating manual tasks, closed-tube sampling (CTS) helps laboratories bridge the gap between a high volume of work and a shortage of qualified workers. As with other automation, CTS allows laboratories to do more with less, a challenge that nearly every lab faces.

The shortage of qualified workers has a ripple effect outside of the laboratory as well, since it can affect the care that patients receive. For example, during the 2001 anthrax crisis, routine public health lab testing was put on hold because labs had to divert resources to test for B. anthracis. By automating manual processes, laboratories position themselves to handle an increasing volume of work even as their staff size stays the same or even shrinks.

Here is a closer look at the worker shortage trend:

• In the United States, it is expected that the shortage of laboratory personnel will be close to 100,000 people by 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Adding to the problem, medical science programs graduate only two new clinical laboratory scientists for every seven who are planning to retire.
• In 1983, there were 638 accredited medical technology programs in the United States. Over time, this steadily dropped to an all-time low of 229 in 2006.
• In a 2005/2006 survey by the American Society for Clinical Pathology, 44% of laboratories reported they were experiencing difficulties in recruiting or hiring medical personnel.

How can this trend be reversed? Laboratory careers need to be more attractive. The solutions are multifaceted, and include better wages and more opportunities for training and advancement. But in addition to this, labs need to address biosafety risks, something that CTS can help to address.