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Gav-Media Solutions- Gavin Omar Dixon

Digital Marketing Overview -Gavin Omar Dixon

Digital Marketing in Laboratory Medicine

Sales in Laboratory Medicine

Motivation is the Key

Martin Luther King Jr. once said "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase" and this is relevant to every idea to start a Medical Laboratory. Starting a Medical Laboratory requires you to have the right motives and mentality by first believing that it is possible. People will formulate every reason there is to tell a Medical Technologist that he/she cannot start a Medical Laboratory hence motivation is the key to staying on track with your dreams. These reasons will include: Lack of money, Lack of connections, or Lack of a good business plan to present to investors/banks. The primary reason most Medical Technologists never start a Medical Laboratory in their entire life is the lack of the right motivation.

Negativity and fear is the main reason for failure in achieving your dreams in life and the reluctant nature of humans to change their thinking. Some of your family and friends will tell you that you won't get any customers, starting a Medical Laboratory is too risky, No one will invest in your business idea, play it safe and be careful and most times you allow others to define you and your dreams. Most Medical Technologists are not living their dreams of financial freedom because they constantly listen to the naysayers and they are living their fears instead of living their dreams. It is important to become fearless and evaluate the difference between what you see and hear in your world and how you interpret it. When selling your ideas, you will face rejection but you must learn how to interpret rejections in a positive way. When you meet an investor who says "No" you should not equate that with a rejection to your business idea. Instead interpret it as "Not yet" meaning the investor is just not ready to close the deal with you right now. Giving up on your dreams is not an option regardless of the rejection. Most investors will say "No" a number of times before they say "Yes". You should be rational about rejection, the investor is not rejecting you, it is just that you were not solving a problem for the investor.

Investors will tell you "We cannot invest in your idea today", "We need to think about it" or "I need to talk to my spouse" but Investors say "No" when they don't want to tell you the real reason they can't say "Yes". It is your duty to ask them hard questions and find out why they said "No". Getting discouraged after rejection will kill your productivity but it is when you make motivation a habit that you will keep going and press on. Cultivating a mindset of abundance will help you to stay motivated despite of the objections in life. Having people with the same mission and vision around you is necessary to help you achieve your dreams. The mentality you have determines the possibility of starting a Medical Laboratory or the impossibility. Changing your mentality is essential to your success if you look at your life and you aren't where you want to be. Creating excuses for your lack of achievement in the realm of Laboratory Medicine will slow you down and will cause you to settle for less. If you become burnt out then you are ignoring your purpose and you need to find a reason why you do what you do.

Focusing on your goals and your reasons for achieving those goals and selling those reasons to yourself is important. Whether those reasons are to help people such as your father, mother or any other family member then you must sell yourself that motivation on a daily basis. Motivation is like breathing, because like breathing, you need to stay motivated everyday. Motivation should become your oxygen if you want to sell your ideas to the right people and close the deal. Your ultimate aim is to sell more and to get people's money to finance your dreams. In order to sell more, you need to stay motivated and become obsessed with motivation because there are a lot of objections that you will face that will discourage you and throw you off track. Each Medical Technologist should start thinking of himself or herself as the best person to go into a business deal with and that you have the best idea to start a Medical Laboratory. Tell yourself daily, "I am the best business on Earth" once you are convinced that every Medical Technologist is a business.

For more information on how to stay motivated and act like a business instead of an employee, call us: 18765685178, email us: gavmedsolutions@gmail.com, Like our Facebook fan page "Gav-Med Solutions"

Digital Marketing transforms Laboratory Medicine

The world of Laboratory Medicine is changing and if you have not accepted this then you are obviously in denial of reality. Obscurity is no longer a reason to justify lack of sales in a business since their are so many social media and other online marketing platforms to tell the world your story. Salespeople and Entrepreneurs have embraced technology as a vital tool for increasing sales and now drives traffic to their websites and convert internet leads quicker than every before using their smartphones and laptops. There are measurable statistics provided to analyze your marketing and sales campaigns online that are not provided by traditional media such as TV, print or radio. You can know the age, geographic location as well as the digital devices that customers use to view your website. Google analytics and Google adwords are sales and marketing instruments that have changed the advertisement arena and has led many business professionals to use the more affordable option of digital marketing instead of TV, print or radio. Instead of TV, there is YouTube, instead of print, there are blogs and instead of radio, there are podcasts that you can all access via the internet.

DID YOU KNOW?

1. Google gets over 100 billion searches per month (Mashable, 2015)

2. The average Google first page result contains 1,890 words (Backlinko, 2016)

3. 50% of search queries are four words or longer (Wordstream, 2016)

4. 61% of marketers say improving search engine optimization and growing their organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority (Hubspot, 2017)

5. 71% of Business to Business (B2B) researchers start their research with a generic search

Internet marketing and Social media are dominating the advertisement and sales industry. TV, print and radio as well as other traditional media are now replaced by digital media

For more information you can google "Gav-Med Solutions" or "Gavin Omar Dixon"

Selling-Gavin-Omar-Dixon

Quality and Accreditation

Less than five out of more than sixty medical laboratories in Jamaica have achieved accreditation status which indicates that the critical decisions of Medical Doctors are prone to error in medical diagnosis. It is apparent that there are a plethora of medical laboratories in operation across the island of Jamaica without adhering to international standards. This indicates that these organizations are not qualified to offer any type of service to the Jamaican people. There are no regulations to mandate the accreditation of medical laboratories in Jamaica due to the fact that the Medical Laboratories 2005 Act is yet to be passed into Law. The only countries in the Caribbean which makes it compulsory for medical laboratories to be licensed include Barbados, Guyana, Belize and the Bahamas.

Based on current statistics, Jamaica has 46 private medical labs, 52 public medical laboratories and NPHL. Since 2015, Jamaica is a signatory to the International Laboratory Accreditation Corporation for the ISO 15189 standards. ISO 15189 is the medical standard that governs the medical laboratories on the international market. The medical laboratories in Jamaica that are accredited by JANAAC (Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation) are deemed to meet international standards based on the criteria outlined in ISO 15189. Seventy to Eighty percent of the medical decisions that Physicians make are based on the results obtained from medical laboratories. Hence, there is a need for high standards, quality control and quality assurance in order to ensure confidence in the results produced from medical labs. Once the Medical Laboratories 2005 Act is passed then it will make accreditation mandatory in Jamaica. Based on the standards established in ISO 15189 medical lab standards there is increasing international pressure for medical laboratories in Jamaica to achieve accreditation status. Accreditation is dependent on the Total Quality Management of medical laboratories and thus it will raise the bar for medical testing in Jamaica.

Accreditation refers to the process by which an authoritative body grants formal recognition to an entity, based on specific international standards, to carry out particular services. On the other hand, quality is defined as the degree of excellence and the building blocks of quality include: quality systems, quality control and quality assurance. It has been promulgated over the years that total quality management which leads to accreditation for medical laboratories will result in increased revenue from medical tourism. Medical Laboratories are required to operate in an environment that is regulated by a quality system to achieve the standards of excellence necessary to provide high levels of patient safety. Quality assurance is the planned and systematic activities that are implemented in a quality system so that quality requirements are fulfilled. Quality control is the tool that is used in QA to control and monitor the inherent variables that lead to errors. It is a tool used to fulfill requirements for quality. Once Total Quality Management is properly structured then the medical lab will produce results that are accurate and precise, cost efficient, and customer friendly. Accuracy is a test result which is close to its true value while precision is whether the same test can be run on the same sample several times and produce the same result. All analytical methods have some error and an error is the difference between the true value and the obtained value. For more information on quality and accreditation you can call us: 18765685178 or email us: gavmedsolutions@gmail.com.

Gav-Med Solutions

Gavin Omar Dixon

Gavin Omar Dixon is the product for sale.

How to sell Medical Laboratory Tests.

Personalize your Medical Laboratory

Personalize your Medical Laboratory is about using digital technology to market your brand to the world via the internet. Personalization is used by a variety of companies to improve digital sales conversion, customer loyalty, advertising and website metrics as well as marketing and branding results. Personalization is a key element in social media. Open data on the internet is increasing in its prevalence and plays a major role in personalization. Data is available via APIs, web services as well as open data standards which allows the data to be inter-connected and re-used by third parties.

Predictive personalization is the ability to predict customers behavior, needs and wants and tailor sales pitches according to the customer's personality. One source of this predictive analysis is social data which is used by a lot of digital marketing experts who want to convert more leads and target customers online. This is artifical intelligence at play as well which uses behavioral targeting.

The categories of web personalization include:
1. Behavioral
2. Historical data
3. Contextual
4. Technical
5. Collaboratively filtered

One example of personalization is a website knows a user's location and buying habits will tailor a suggestion in the form of a sales offer based on the user's demographics. Each user is classified by a relevant trait such as location or age then given personalization in the form of a sales offer.

Importance of Courage

Bravery is a necessary trait for each Medical Technologist who desires to start a Medical Laboratory and fear can oftentimes cripple your dreams as a health professional if you allow it to hold you back. All human beings have to muster up the courage and the guts to make decisions to take risks in life and one of the greatest risk for a Medical Technologist is starting his or her own medical lab. We all can acknowledge that fear is natural and the most vital attribute of a Medical Technologist who wants to be a genius is courage. Courage is within everyone but not everyone looks for courage within themselves. Most people are searching for courage inside other people instead of themselves and this approach will not make you successful.

That popular saying states that, "It takes money to make money," but I believe it takes courage to make money. Every Medical Technologist should focus on what he/she has instead of what you don't have. You have beliefs, ideas, courage, persistence, creativity, flavor, zest, willingness and fullness which are things that can be traded for money in the Medical and Pharmaceutical Marketplace. Every Medical Technologist has ideas but they think that they must have money in order to make the idea become a reality. The truth is that you do need money but what you should do is look around and see who has the money- go see them and get their money to fund your idea. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and complaining that you do not have money to start a Medical Laboratory. Now more than ever, there is more money on Earth since the existence of mankind. If you need to money to start a Medical Laboratory and you don't have it then you should consider the possibility that you are not courageous enough in your search for the right people and selling them your idea.

Courage grows with skills and the competence to articulate your idea to start a Medical Laboratory to the banks and investors in order to get the money you need. Some Medical Technologists spend more time having fun at parties instead of at the banks or speaking to strangers who are investors. Stop skylarking with the wrong company which demotivates you as a Medical technologist and sacrifice your fun today for your joy, happiness and freedom tomorrow. Do not pull back from the things that you are scared of and become courageous in doing things that you are afraid of. Due to the fact that we are human beings, everyone is afraid of different things. The more you confront your fears and overcome them then the more confidence you will develop about the possibilities in your life.

Approach your fear, confront it, fight and defeat it and then you will have confidence and motivation. Courage takes action therefore make a list of everything you fear and confront each individually by starting with your biggest fear as a Medical Technologist.

For more information on how to confront your fears as a Medical Technologist, visit our website: http://gavmedsolutions.blogspot.com/, email us: gavmedsolutions@gmail.com, call us: 18765685178

Starting a Medical Laboratory with no money

The most important element in managing a Medical Laboratory is your product sourcing strategy, whilst a very important step in starting a Medical Laboratory with no money is to learn how to sell. Every Med Tech should start asking him/ herself, "Whose got my money to start my Medical Laboratory?" and then spend everyday selling your idea to those people. If you are unsuccessful in starting a Medical Laboratory at any point in your life, you have a sales problem and not a money problem. Gav-Med Solutions can assist you with learning how to sell your idea to an investor or a bank.

There is not a shortage of money in Jamaica to start a Medical Laboratory, but a shortage of people who can sell an idea to people who have the money. Whenever an individual wants something, i.e. money, you have to commit to learning how to sell your idea as a Medical Technologist in order to get it. Fear and self- doubt is a crippling factor for many entrepreneurs and it is the same with the Medical Laboratory Scientists who wants to start their own Lab. Doubting yourself is not the first option, but believing in the possibility and having the right mind-set is the first commitment in the process then you must learn how to sell. If you are a Medical Technologist and you believe that you will never start a Medical laboratory in your entire lifetime then you are already twice defeated in the race of life. Gav-Med Solutions is a consulting firm dedicated to helping health professionals, such as Doctors, with product sourcing strategy as well as starting and managing Medical Laboratories. We are a group of Medical Laboratory professionals dedicated to helping people with developing the right frame of mind and dismissing the negative thinking that surrounds the idea of starting a Medical Laboratory then investing in yourself as a person by learning how to sell.

The profession of being a Medical Technologist is noted and oftentimes regarded as a profession that attracts selfish and introverted people who do not like to talk to strangers. The people that have the hardest time in sales when trying to get a product or service sold to a customer are people who are selfish and afraid of talking to people. If you have it hard starting a Medical Laboratory it is because you have the wrong friends and you are not talking to the right people, i.e. investors/ banks. As a Medical Technologist, you have to stop thinking about yourself and how much money you can make and focus on how much difference you can make by simply talking to people. The primary reason a Medical Technologist fails in starting his or her own lab is they are self- centered egotists who are reluctant in talking to strangers because they think they are better than other people.

Gav-Med Solutions is committed to helping Health professionals with selling their ideas, i.e. ideas which should be importantly centered around creating a solution for a problem. If your Medical Laboratory does not solve a problem then my advice is to create a problem. I studied Medical Technology but decided to venture into a sales career, as a Medical Representative, in order to learn how to sell an idea to people, who have money, in order for them to pay me for my product or service. I ask myself everyday, "Whose got the money to fund my dreams in order to make them become a reality?" and I live everyday trying to solve problems for those people. That's the simple formula and if I could help a million people solve their problems and get paid for it then you can do the math. Fear is another obstacle in starting a Medical Laboratory which often prevents people from talking to other people about their ideas because of lack of courage. If you start talking to every single Jamaican and you are still unsuccessful in making your dreams a reality then you need training in sales.

Your major obstacle in starting a Medical Laboratory is sales and not money, if you learn how to sell then the money will come. If You don't believe in yourself as a Medical Technologist enough by learning how to sell then don't be surprised when other people don't invest in your idea of starting a Medical Laboratory.

If you need more information on how to sell your idea, visit our website: http://gavmedsolutions.com/, or you can email us: gavmedsolutions@gmail.com, like our facebook fan page "Gav-Med Solutions" call us at: 18765685178

Sourcing the right You

Sourcing the right You

You, the Medical Technologist, is the first product that you have to sell to your customer. There is a portion of every medical technologist's life that is missing, and it is preventing them from being the best Medical Technologist that they can be in the world of Laboratory Medicine. There is a common theme that is missing which is not personal appearance or money, but it is who they are as a person. This is an element of Total Quality Management that is embodied in Personnel Management where quality begins and ends with people. In life, we sometimes end up broke, feeling worthless, making poor decisions and as a result we desire a better life.

Medical Laboratory Scientists sometimes try to overcome early images that they did not like and want to be great at everything that they do. You must try to grow beyond whatever you thought you would become, whether a Doctor, Lawyer or Pastor, and make it known to everyone that you are grateful and that nothing is impossible. Every Med Tech likes to feel confident, excited, enthusiastic or whatever "self" you want to create. You should look straight into your own eyes and ask yourself "Is this someone that I can be proud of?" Then, instead of being a selfish person, create an image of a person whose customers can depend on him/her. In order to source the right you, you have to stop thinking about yourself or how much money you can make and focus on how much difference you can make. What makes you, YOU? It is what the Medical Technologist does and not who the Medical Technologist is that defines him/her as a person. The greatest joy we have is in making patients feel better even if it is just for a moment, therefore you should become more interested in people's well being without having ulterior motives. People are very fascinating creatures, you just have to love them and they will love you back, listen to them and you can learn a lot.

Everyday you talk to a customer at your Medical Laboratory, remind them how terrific they are and use words of encouragement to spark a change in someone's life. We oftentimes take for granted the good things we do and then torture ourselves for the mistakes that we naturally make as flawed and imperfect human beings wearing Laboratory coats and analyzing blood samples. We naturally will take a left turn sometimes when we should turn right and make other bad decisions in life. Every human being will have accidents along the way, but in order to become successful medical technologists, you need to accept what you have done and learn from it. Learn to have a positive attitude even when there is a dark cloud of negativity hanging over your head, and as long as you can do that as a Medical Laboratory Scientist, no error is too great that it should cripple you forever. Despite our raft of downfalls, we can grow and prosper together as human beings. We need to see the good in ourselves and be brave in accepting our shortcomings. You need to discover your life's purpose and the fastest way to do that, as a Medical Technologist, is through introspection. You have to dive into the deeper essences of who you are to pull out the pieces and assemble the puzzle of your life's purpose.

Medical Laboratory professionals should try to improve their life by getting more zest, more flavor, more fullness and then become a better person. Wake up every morning excited to go to the Medical Laboratory, jumping out of bed with a thirst for life that you haven't felt since you were a toddler. Life's purpose can be your connection to something big that will allow you to make a difference in the world and leave a legacy behind for others to follow. Whenever you sail into uncharted waters you will experience fear but always remember that you are human and learn to overcome your fears. Your inner beliefs of negativity maybe the first beast that you confront as a med tech. To fight negative self-talk you have to shine a spotlight of awareness on this negativity and then it will lose its control over you. Those negative beliefs may say draconian things such as, "You don't deserve to have a purpose" or "you'll never find what you're looking for in life." You have to be courageous as a Medical Technologist and acknowledge that this inner dialogue is more afraid of you than you are of it and it is trying to keep you trapped. The best way to stop the negative self-talk from stopping your success is to study these thoughts inside and out, and then act positively in spite of the thoughts you have. Whenever a belief is threatening to take a toll on your success as a Medical Technologist or your Laboratory then one must look it square in the eye and act positively anyway.

No matter who we are, we all can win!

You have to source the right product that you want to be.

Sourcing the right you will make you successful.

Product Sourcing Strategy

Effect of Product Sourcing strategy on Sales

If customers (Physicians/Patients) object to a Medical laboratory product or service, it is likely your product sourcing strategy is wrong and the customer needs more product knowledge from the medical technologist to know why their service is the best solution for them. It is hard to sell to a client a product/ service from a medical lab that does not address his/her needs, interests, or condition, therefore finding, choosing and purchasing the right products and services will increase sales and grow revenue. Having the right product sourcing strategy and procurement techniques allows a Medical Laboratory to get a better understanding of the products and services in their business. Hence, this allows the Medical Technologist to utilize different techniques and procedures when doing presentations of their products and services and develop stronger communication skills.

A Medical Laboratory scientist will adapt to a different sales presentation for various types of customers. The medical lab manager should train employees to sell the benefits of the products they have sourced as well as how the products meet customers' needs. One of the best marketing and sales tool used by a Medical Laboratory is the enthusiasm that a Technologist has for the products/services. There is an elimination of any uncertainty that the product/service may not be the best solution for the customer whenever the Medical Technologist generates excitement about their product or service.  The obtainment of excellent product knowledge via your product sourcing strategy and believing in the product is the easiest way to get enthusiastic about your medical laboratory and its offers.

Selecting, sourcing and buying products which the Medical Technologist is educated on is the best way to cement confident in all employees of your Medical Lab. It is pivotal to remember that the first sale you make is yourself and the second sale is your product or service. Hence, if a Physician/patient believes in you, they will believe in the product or service that you are selling at your Medical laboratory. Most objections made by Physicians or patients are really nothing more than questions about the product or service you offer which they want to be educated on. The product sourcing strategy will encourage Medical Technologist to read more, be more enthusiastic and become more educated on their products and services once your medical lab has good procurement practices. In order to easily counter objections, a Medical Technologist should be well versed not only on the products or services at their lab but on similar products or services sold by their competitors.

Product Sourcing Strategy has an effect on:

• Product Knowledge
• Pricing Structure
• Styles, Colors or Models available
• History of the product or service
• Any special manufacturing process
• Product distribution and delivery
• Servicing warranty and repair information
• The customer's interests

All of these factors affect the sales of your Medical Laboratory which is the lifeblood of your business. With new product sourcing strategy, it may take a while for Medical Technologists to  easily articulate knowledge about their product or service but overtime they will become more confident with providing the correct information to Physicians, which will improve sales results. Most physicians/patients want to know WHY your product or service is important to him/her. Never make the mistake of talking about more benefits than you need to. Customers crave product knowledge in order to make purchasing decisions. A customer will likely use only 20% of the features of the product or service they buy, therefore because your product or service has a "cool" feature doesn't mean it will be cool to the customer. Product sourcing strategy and knowledge is the most important tool for closing sales. It instills faith, trust, and respect in the customer which creates a positive customer experience. Physicians or patients will research your products or services because there is tremendous competition that drives customers to believe all products or services are similar. Physicians or Patients have to trust the Medical laboratory and its services and the Medical laboratory professional that they interact with before they make the purchase. Your customers will always require answers to difficult questions hence all medical laboratory scientists should be well educated on their product and services.

Good product sourcing strategy is the vehicle to increased sales, since it strengthens communication skills which allows Medical Technologists to suitably adapt a sales presentation for greater impact. A display of enthusiasm and belief in the product may generate excitement among Physicians/Patients and alleviate uncertainty about the solution that the product provides the customer which in the long-term boosts enthusiasm in your customers. If a customer is not completely committed to making a purchase, the difference may simply be the confidence of the Medical Laboratory scientist who is selling the product or service. Solid strategic sourcing, procurement knowledge coupled with parallel information about similar products/ services sold to your customers gives added advantage to easily counter objections and increase sales.

If you need more information on the impact of product sourcing strategy on sales, email us: gavmedsolutions@gmail.com or call us: 18765685178. Visit our website for more information: http://gavmedsolutions.com/

The Medical Laboratory at a glance

The Medical Laboratory at a glance.

Background

A Medical Laboratory is an institution where diagnostic testing is done on clinical and biological samples in order to obtain information about the health of patients as pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of maladies.

In Jamaica, Medical Laboratory Services are divided into different tiers and are categorized as Independent reference laboratories, Research laboratories and Physician- office laboratories. The Jamaican public and private sector furnishes laboratory support to all social strata both in urban and rural areas.

Seventy percent of medical decisions made in terms of the diagnosis and treatment of pathologies are due to Medical laboratory results, which play a vital import and sometimes singular role in the decisions made by Physicians in diagnosing patients. The amalgamation of the history, physical examination, x-ray studies and other diagnostic procedures with laboratory diagnoses always lead to sound medical diagnostic judgment.

Individually and communally, medical laboratories should ascertain the functions, scope and the capacity of the services offered as well as have the appropriate infrastructure with necessary measures in place in terms of biosafety. Also, the personnel hired in the medical lab should be qualified and trained staff who are employed with periodic upgrading of their skills. Total Quality Management(TQM) is significant in the overall function of health care laboratories having a worldwide recognized importance. Without the implementation of TQM in the medical lab, misdiagnosis, erroneous therapeutic assessment, wastage and litigation, amongst others, are the long-term negative consequences affecting the integrity of the medical lab.

In order to harmonize the standards of all medical laboratories globally, the international organization for standardization announced ISO15189. This is the standard used by the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) to accredit labs in Jamaica. The requirements and guidelines set by JANAAC documented in ISO15189 are very comprehensive and very tasking to achieve. The first Medical laboratory in Jamaica to achieve accreditation status from JANAAC is Biomedical Caledonia Medical Laboratory. However, very few medical labs in Jamaica conform to these standards because of inadequate knowledge of implementation.

This guideline is thus compiled to guide health professionals, especially Doctors, to understand the requirements for setting up a medical laboratory in Jamaica.   

Categories of Medical Laboratories in Jamaica.

The different categories of medical laboratories in Jamaica has three tiers namely, Primary laboratory, Secondary laboratory, and Tertiary laboratory. Primary laboratories perform simple waived laboratory tests and can be managed by a registered Medical Laboratory Scientist or a Medical Laboratory Technician. These labs include primary healthcare laboratories, side laboratories within clinics or in medical centres. Some Point-of-Care testing that these primary medical laboratories perform include Haemoglobin, Packed Cell Volume, Urinalysis, pregnancy screening test.

Secondary laboratories are those medical labs that can carry out diagnostic services which may be required by the community and may be a research laboratory centre which must be managed by a Medical Laboratory Scientist.

Tertiary laboratories are medical labs that can carry out diagnostic services as well as training and research at sophisticated level, and could also be an independent reference laboratory. It can have all or specialized disciplines or departments such as Haematology, Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology, Blood Banking, Cytology, Histotechnology, Molecular Diagnostics, Immunology and Serology.

Quality Management in the medical laboratory

The medical laboratory in Jamaica has evolved from just a mere service unit to a business entity. Hence adequate and quality space must be provided to enhance quality management of lab services. Medical laboratories should be situated more than two-hundred-meter radius of another medical lab, market or an environment where wastes from the lab can pose any form of health hazard to the Jamaican public. The space of the medical laboratory should have enough working space and appropriate conditions to ensure quality services. The medical laboratory space should be such that the contaminated area is well defined, drafted and separated from the clean area. The Medical laboratory shall monitor control and document all environmental conditions which may affect the quality of its services. The medical lab in Jamaica should design appropriate room/space for collection of samples which should not affect the quality of its services. There should also be a clear procedure for waste management and environmental protection. The lab should develop and implement a quality management system that satisfies the requirement under the following twelve clauses:

·         Organization and management

·         Personnel

·         Equipment

·         Purchasing and Inventory

·         Process Control

·         Documents and Record

·         Occurrence Management

·         Assessment

·         Process Improvement

·         Client Management

·         Information Management

·         Facility and Safety

The organization of the medical laboratories should be legally identifiable and all services of the medical labs should meet relevant requirements, and the scope of service should be defined.

·         Design implementation, improvement of the quality management system and maintenance are necessary responsibilities of the medical laboratory management.

·         Quality policies, procedures and manual shall be documented and communicated to all relevant personnel. The management should ensure that the documents are understood and implemented.

·         Reviewal of internal audit reports, surveillance reports, quality index results, laboratories services evaluation reports, and complaint records are important to management of medical labs and the management reviews should be documented.

·         The quality index for quality monitoring shall be specified.

Employing sufficient, qualified and trained staff are important to the success of medical laboratories in Jamaica. The laboratory should have sufficient number of registered medical laboratory scientists proportional to the amount of work as well as being available at all times. The manager of the medical laboratory is responsible for the duties related to advising, instructing, managing, budgeting, training, etc. and should be an experienced professional medical laboratory scientist. Personnel qualification shall be specific to the job description:

·         There shall be staff development and appropriate continuing education program available at all levels of the medical lab organization in order to upgrade the knowledge of the staff in the lab.

·         There should be regular monitoring of work performance evaluation for designing the training plan.

·         Curriculum vitae, training records and relevant records of laboratory personnel should be maintained.

·         Annual medical check-up and vaccinations should be supported.

·         Personnel privileged to access to the confidential laboratory data stored in computers or in files should be well defined.

Medical laboratory equipment, reference materials, reagents and test kits should be selected and verified appropriately. The analytical and logistic technology has to be available on a level which fulfils the minimum requirements for quality diagnostic services. Only authorized personnel should operate medical lab equipment, and it is important to stress that the most recent sophisticated equipment should have easy access to reagents. This can be a negative critical success factor and will not make the recommended equipment list. Prudent procurement management is pivotal to medical laboratories which should define and document its policy and procedure for selection of suppliers in its supply chain. There should be inventory control system for suppliers of critical reagents and services that affect the quality of test results. There should be maintenance of records documenting the approved suppliers by the manager of the medical lab.

Every clinical laboratory should ensure the definition and documentation of procedure for selection of the referral laboratories and advisory matters.

Procedures should be established to ensure that the reports received from external medical labs are correct. A copy should be maintained for an appropriate period of time. Implementation of internal quality control for monitoring the quality system and recording all factors affecting the quality of lab services are important. The procedures for testing should be calibrated using reference material and each medical laboratory should participate in External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS). The medical lab should formulate a specimen collection manual which among others should include procedure for collection, transporting, storage, handling, acceptance or rejection of specimens. The Laboratory should use only the validated methods which are standardized for specimen testing. The procedures for all test should be maintained and documented. There should be lucid organization of reporting procedures including the use of computer networks for reporting and critical results reporting. There should be an appropriate format stating:

·         The name of the medical laboratory and logo

·         Name and age of the patient

·         The hospital registration number of the patient

·         The laboratory number of the patient

·         Test request

·         Nature of the specimen

·         Specimen receiving date

·         Reporting date

·         Test result and SI units

·         Name and signature of Medical laboratory scientist reporting the result

·         Name and signature of Medical laboratory scientist authorizing release of the result

·         Biological reference when applicable

The medical laboratory should maintain a copy of report for an appropriate period of time. A list of all documents should be maintained and should be reviewed and approved by authorized persons, whist discontinued documents should be archived or removed. Only the authorized personnel should have access to the laboratory records and data. The criteria for the control of non-conformance should be defined and root cause analysis should be undertaken to forestall future occurrence. Testing may be stopped and results held until the non-conformance is resolved, depending on nature and seriousness of the non-conformance. Results reported during the non-conformance should be recalled when the non-conformance is of a critical nature to patient care. The quality system of the medical laboratory must undergo internal audits, at least once per year, to facilitate verification that the medical laboratory is in compliance with the quality system. The management of the medical laboratory should systematically review all operational procedures at regular intervals or other opportunities for improvement in the quality management system or technical practices. Action plans for improvement should be documented, developed and implemented. Medical laboratory management should ensure that the lab participates in continual improvement activities that encompass relevant area and outcomes of patient care. There should also be the development of a process for monitoring client’s satisfaction and complaint. Procedures should be developed for receiving client feedback, opinion analysis, reporting to laboratory personnel and top management. An implementation plan should be developed to address all complaints.

Work stations

The height of Medical laboratory work benches should be between 28-35inches above the floor and should have adequate leg and knee clearance under the workbench.  The workbenches should be 4-6 inches below elbow height while practitioner is seated on the stool. Laboratory stool, chairs should not height between 20-25 inches and should not have rollers. The top materials for workbenches should be made of epoxy resin, silica, and chemically resistant plastic laminate. Stainless steel is good for glass wash rooms and cold rooms. However, workbench top materials must have chemical impact, moisture, and bacteria resistance. Floor tiles and Kitchen granite work tops are not recommended. The windows must be glass (opaque translucent/tinted) but lacking window blind drabs. The position of the window should be in a way that good cross ventilation is achieved. The windows must be secured and netted and no fans should be in the medical lab which should be well lit at all times. Multiple white energy saving or fluorescent tubes are recommended and the plumbing for water and gas must be conduit wiring devoid of crisscrossing to avoid accidents. The water tap must be sink and elbow enamel, whilst the drainage must be connected to soak-away, sited away from the laboratory and domestic water source. There must be constant running water available and no carpeting should be in the medical laboratory. The floor can be tiled with vinyl composition tiles, sheath vinyl, rubber floors, or monolithic flooring. Floors must be mopped not swept and acoustic type ceiling is recommended for high sound absorbance. Ceiling must be solid, no liquid penetration, no access panels and open ceiling is acceptable if there are no exposed ducts/ tapes. It should be free from decorations and high enough for free movement. Electrical sockets should be placed on the laboratory benches or walls proximal to the workbench depending on the bench design. Crisscrossing of wires should be avoided, while conduit wiring or surface trunking is recommended. If the local electricity supply is intermittent or inadequate, a generator of adequate capacity should be provided. Medical laboratory wastes should be separated appropriately into hazardous, non-hazardous and sharps. Liquid waste should be either heat-treated or chemically treated before being discarded into the drainage system. A pivotal element in waste management is that there must be incinerator, needle destroyer or pit. All microbial wastes must be sterilized before incineration.

The medical laboratory in Jamaica should be managed by a licensed Medical Technologist, and in situations where a Medical Technologist is not available, a certified Medical Laboratory Technician with three years training on Clinical Laboratory Sciences quality control and lab management, may manage a primary category clinical laboratories with supervision by a licensed Medical Laboratory Scientist. The lab should employ qualified and adequately trained personnel for the level of service. Work assignment should be consistent with the qualification of the concerned personnel. There should be sufficient number of registered medical lab scientist proportional to the work load and shall be available at all times during the medical laboratory operation hours. There should be at least one registered Medical Technologist per call duty to cover laboratory operation at the hospital based clinical laboratory. There should be sufficient number and types of appropriate medical lab equipment to undertake all laboratory examinations and procedures for each test menu. All equipment should comply with safety measures and the manager of the medical lab should be responsible for overseeing the management of all equipment including Point-of-Care testing devices irrespective of where they are located and there should be an establishment and maintenance of a quality and safety manual in the medical laboratory.

The List of Equipment for each Medical Laboratory level.

Primary laboratory:

·         Binocular microscope with (×100) objective

·         Centrifuge

·         Haematocrit centrifuge; reader

·         Refrigerator

·         ESR tubes & stand

·         Stop watch

·         Ambient room thermometer

·         Refrigerator thermometer

·         Glasswares

·         Automatic pipettes

·         Consumable & reagent/kits

·         Electronic weighing balance

Secondary laboratory (The following equipment are needed minimum depending on discipline/ department):

Clinical Chemistry:

·         Colorimeter

·         Spectrophotometer

·         Flame photometer or ISE

·         Refrigerator

·         Chemical balance

·         Automatic pipette

·         Water bath

·         Water distiller

·         Stopwatch

Clinical Haematology:

·         Haematocrit centrifuge & reader

·         Binocular microscope

·         Electric Centrifuge

·         Colorimeter

·         ESR stand & tubes

·         Electrophoretic machine and tank

·         WBC counter

·         Automatic pipettes

·         Neubaeur Counting chamber

·         Water bath

·         Glassware and Reagents

·         Staining Racks

·         Refrigerator, Freezer

Clinical Parasitology:

·         Binocular microscope

·         Centrifuge

·         Hot air oven

·         Reagent & Consumable

·         Glasswares

·         Standing rack

·         Automatic pipettes

·         Refrigerator

·         Stopwatch

·         Micro-ELISA system

Clinical Bacteriology:

·         Microscope

·         Autoclave

·         Hot air oven

·         Anaerobic Jar

·         Facility for CO2 incubation

·         Centrifuge

·         Incubator

·         Refrigerator

·         Freezer

·         Reagent & Consumables

·         Glassware

·         Weighing balance

·         Automatic pipettes

·         Thermometer

·         70° Celsius freezer

·         Facility for Tuberculosis culture

Blood Banking:

·         Bleeding Couch

·         Blood Bank

·         Centrifuge

·         Microscope

·         Water bath

·         Chemical balance

·         Refrigerator

·         Freezer

·         Plasma Extractor

·         Weighing Balance

·         Blood pressure monitor

·         Bath Weighing Scale

Tertiary Laboratory:

In addition to the equipment in the secondary laboratory, the tertiary laboratory must have the following:

Virology:

Virology reagent and Facility for viral culture; ELISA system

Histotechnology:

·         Microtome

·         Tissue Incubator

·         Cryotome (refrigerator microtome)

·         Slide staining rack (assorter)

·         Binocular Microscope

·         Cytocentrifuge

·         Automatic slide staining machine

·         Consumables

Medical Microbiology:

·         Anaerobic Station

·         Blood culture system

·         ELISA machine and reader

·         Florescent Microscope

·         Carbon Dioxide Incubator

·         Laminar Flow Cabinet

·         Sperm Quality Analyzer

·         API Systems

Clinical Chemistry:

·         Chromatography

·         Atomic Absorption

·         Spectrophotometer

·         Photometer

·         Electrophoretic system

·         High Pressure Liquid Chromatography

·         ELISA System

·         Densitometric Scanner

·         Turbidimeter

·         Autoanalyses

·         Ion Specific Electrodes

·         pH meter

·         Mass Spectrometer

·         Fluorimeter

·         Chemiluminometer

·         Biosafety cabinet

·         Anodic Strip Voltammeter

·         Lead Analysers

·         Vortex mixer

·         Microplate Reader

·         Osmometer

·         70 degrees Celsius Freezer

·         Chemistry Analyzer

·         Immunology Analyzer

·         Deionizer

Mycology:

·         Microscope

·         Incubator

·         Mycology reagents: e.g. Lactophenol cotton blue,

Molecular lab:

Three rooms with unidirectional workflow for a manual PCR lab.

·         Biosafety hood/ cabinet

·         Standard work benches

·         Thermocycler

·         Automatic Pipettes designated for each room

·         Area Specific Laboratory Coat

·         UV Transilluminator

·         DNA sequencer

·         Ultracentrifuge

·         Gel Documentation System

·         Gel Turing device

·         Gel Electrophoretic system

·         Fraction Collector

LIST OF TESTS FOR EACH LABORATORY LEVEL

PRIMARY LABORATORY

1. HIV Serology: Rapid Test

2. Haemoglobin/Packed Cell Volume

3. Urine Test for Pregnancy

4. Urinalysis

5. Direct Microscopy

6. Rapid Syphilis Test (RST)

7. Other Rapid Point-of-Care Tests

SECONDARY LABORATORY

All the tests listed in primary level and the following:

1. Complete blood count (CBC)

2. CSF analysis

3. CD4

4. Blood Chemistry

5. Bacteriology

6. Parasitology

7. Blood transfusion service

TERTIARY LABORATORY

All the tests listed in secondary level and the following:

1. Histopathology

2. Mycology

3. Viral Load

4. DNA PCR

5. Drug resistance monitoring (DRM)

6. Immunology

7. Any other specialized assay