The Vanderbilt University Medical Center diagnostic laboratories are opening a new facility at MetroCenter on March 1. The new facility, with 110,000 square feet, more than doubles the lab’s current footprint.
With the move to MetroCenter, Vanderbilt Medical Laboratories will upgrade testing platforms in the Immunoserology laboratory. Immunoserology specimens will be sorted and processed by the automatic chemistry line. In addition, the testing platforms will be changed for selected tests, outlined below. Combined, these changes enable the laboratory to improve workflow and increase testing capacity.
Ordering practices will remain the same—please follow the prompts in eStar.
There are a few impacts to clinical practice of which employees may want to be aware:
- The Extracted Nuclear Antigen panel, MPO and PR3 antibodies, CCP IgG and celiac panel will be run on a multiplex immunoassay platform with a new reference range.
- The interpretation of ANCA and ANA Immunofluorescent immunoassays will be updated to align with current clinical practices.
- The hepatitis A panel will now test for HAV IgM and total anti-HAV (Including both IgM and IgG) instead of HAV IgM and HAV IgG separately.
- Toxoplasma IgG assay will transition to a quantitative assay from a qualitative one.
The lab transformation will meet the growing need for lab services, positively impact countless Vanderbilt patients who depend on rapid in-house testing, help to improve the clinician experience, and lay the groundwork for the future growth of the health system.
Additional details regarding the project can be found on the project’s website at vumc.org/lab-transformation.