United WestLabs And Affiliates
Building Successful Hospital Lab Outreach Programs
About Us
United WestLabs Hospital-Based Lab Outreach Program
United WestLabs, Inc. (“UWL”) is a health care service company that implements and manages turn-key hospital-based, laboratory outreach Programs. The company has developed and refined a very successful, proprietary business model, handling all the pre-analytical and post-analytical service functions relating to the implementation and operation of these profitable Programs. The management team implemented its first hospital-based laboratory Program over twenty-six years ago and has successfully operated more hospital-based lab outreach Programs than any organization in the country.
Key Components of a United WestLabs Program
- UWL has proven track record and has successfully implemented, operated, and sold over 30 hospital-based lab outreach programs, in Arizona, Nevada, California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Texas, and Virginia.
- UWL employs over 300 dedicated, full time employees, providing onsite management and operations (sales, phlebotomy, processing, ordering, logistics, customer service, EMR connectivity, IT support, etc.).
- UWL is the only lab services company in America, with its own, fully-staffed, specialized, hospital lab billing unit dedicated to billing, collections, finance, and compliance.
- UWL is able to invest capital and imports lab outreach infrastructure and systems valued at over $1.5 million per system.
- UWL hospital clients can gain new lab profits of $1-10 million annually, and lower lab costs by as much as 30%.
History
We have 25+ years experience with diverse hospital systems including large urban academic medical systems, multi state IDNs and small community based medical systems. We have managed over $5.5 Billion in clinical diagnostic testing integrated with all major hospital Laboratory Information Systems and physician EHR’s.
Our Services
Outreach Program
United WestLabs currently operates numerous programs in California, Texas, New York and Virginia that are considered some of the most successful hospital-based outreach lab Programs in the country. UWL and its Affiliates are currently leveraging its management team and resources to expand these Programs on a national basis.
UWL will manage the operations and handle all pre-analytical and post-analytical functions such as marketing and client service support, IT connectivity, phlebotomy, specimen handling, processing, order entry, pick-up, delivery, billing, compliance and all non-testing functions.
Turn-Key Outreach Program Benefits
To Hospitals
Hospital laboratories are often considered one of the Hospital’s more significant cost centres. As part of a Hospital’s commitment to quality patient care, it must maintain its laboratory operations 24 hours per day, seven days a week to perform the necessary testing for the Hospital’s inpatient population. The capital cost to equip, staff and maintain these clinical laboratory facilities is exceedingly high; and at most Hospitals, these facilities are an underutilized resource. Most Hospitals have excess capacity and the incremental costs to run additional tests are minimal, primarily involving the additional costs for reagents and supplies.
- UWL has demonstrated that Hospitals can generate substantial profits utilizing their lab facilities during the “non-peak” periods.
- In collaboration with UWL, a typical Hospital can turn its traditional laboratory from a cost centre into a significant revenue centre within its first year of operation.
- UWL Outreach Programs not only generate significant revenue and profits for the Hospital but also create operational efficiencies and improve inpatient testing as well.
- The UWL management team has already been through the difficult “learning curve”, which greatly improves the opportunity for success of these outreach initiatives.
| Why hospital laboratory outreach works for hospitals: | |
| • | UWL programs leverages the underutilized but significant hospital laboratory assets |
| • | Increased volume from UWL programs improves lab efficiency & performance to often exceed productivity standards (RVU’s) |
| • | Lab outreach programs establishes a significant, sustainable, and profitable new line of business |
| • | There is a significant opportunity to improve physician relations as well as exposure to potential attendings with lab outreach. |
To Doctors
From the perspective of a community physician, who regularly contracts for lab services, the advantages of the program are as follows:
| • | Allows physicians to deal with “their Hospital”, in which they already have confidence, with a “known” pathologist, who is likely to be a personal friend or professional colleague | |
| • | It allows physicians to support the Hospital with which they are affiliated rather than contribute additional profits to an outside commercial vendor | |
• |
In most cases it allows physicians to have on-line access from their office to all test results performed at the Hospital lab for the patient, thereby consolidating that patient’s test results | |
| • | Allows physicians to maintain consistency in correlating results between inpatients and outpatients, using the same set of reference ranges | |
UWL’s Solutions for Successful Lab Outreach Programs
Comprehensive solutions for all the moving parts
| Business Development | Operations | Customer Service | Billing | Compliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Force Management | Program management | MD Relationship Management | Lab Specific UB04 billing system | Compliance Officer and team |
| Compliance Guides & Monitoring | EMR/IT training implementation | Supply Re-ordering | Claims review & submission | Claims review & audit |
| MD Practice inservice | Processing Order entry/resulting | Billing Support: Doctors & Patients | Compliance review & audit | Maintain, update, compliance Plan |
| Field Reps support | Logistics Couriers & Vehicles | Test Support & Problem Resolution | Payment posting | Specialized Medicare Medicaid unit |
| Maintain Customer Info/data base | Phlebotomy | In-Service Training - Recurring | Electronic Claims Submission | Dx Confirmation & Screening |
| Market pricing & contracting | Draw Stations Leasing and staffing | STAT Testing Service | Financial review Cost /revenue analysis | Eligibility & Identity Verification |
| Marketing Plan | Technical Support | Document Collection & Assembly | Sales & Marketing Compliance |
|
| EMR Interface support |
UWL Employs, Implements and Manages Lab Outreach Operations
Centralized Operations
Local Operations
Outreach Program Structures
Management Services Agreement
- Comprehensive, “hands-on” solution provides:
- Program management
- Staffing of pre- and post-analytical functions
- IT and operations infrastructure
- Operational leadership of lab outreach with hospital oversight
Outreach Program Joint Venture
- Entity (LLC, Partnership, etc.) jointly formed and owned and operated on a pro-rata basis by Hospital & UWL
- Invests capital for expansion, and both parties contribute certain tangible and intangible assets
- Profits and losses shared on a pro-rata basis