--- title: Understanding Laboratory Demand description: Unlock the power of laboratory data with Datalab's Insights report for demand-focused planning. Understand arrival patterns, volume distribution, and optimize operations for better patient care. Subscribe for expert insights. image: https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/hubfs/laboratory-demands.webp --- [Skip to content](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/understanding-laboratory-demand#main-content) [![Wordmark_Dark_500px](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/Wordmark_Dark_500px.png?width=148&height=40&name=Wordmark_Dark_500px.png "Wordmark_Dark_500px")](http://www.datalabsolutions.ai) - [About](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/about) - [Services](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/services) - [Resources](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog) - [Technology Partners](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/technology-partners) - [Contact Us](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/contact) - [About](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/about) - [Services](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/services) - [Resources](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog) - [Technology Partners](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/technology-partners) - [Contact Us](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/contact) [Contact Us](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/contact) [Blog](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/tag/blog) # Understanding Laboratory Demand Datalab ![](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/hubfs/laboratory-demands.webp) In capacity constrained healthcare systems, ensuring patients get the best service possible requires that healthcare workers have accurate timeous data to act on. As Benjamin Franklin popularly stated: “If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail.” So how do you go about extracting all the useful bits of what seems like a sea of data in an already busy, on-the-go, STAT paced environment? The power lies in the already captured, at hand laboratory information systems (LIS) data. This is where you start your demand focused planning journey. This article follows from our Harnessing the Power of Laboratory Data piece where we touched on the capabilities of our pathology laboratory focused Insights report and how valuable demand forecasting can be in the laboratory’s day to day operation. Next on our agenda is to introduce you to our Insights report:   \[iframe goes here\] #### **This is how you achieve Demand Focused Planning** To help us demonstrate, the dashboard above is populated with an anonymised LIS data sample. The first five pages relating to laboratory demand will be discussed in this piece and the remaining four pages will be elaborated on in our final piece in this series where we will be discussing the value of monitoring and managing your laboratory’s time allocation and turnaround time (TAT) behaviour. So how does one achieve demand focused planning? By understanding your arrival patterns, volume sources and how your volumes are distributed throughout your laboratory. In summary, we want to answer three questions: - WHEN do your volumes arrive? - WHERE do your volumes come from and WHERE are they going? - HOW are the volumes distributed throughout the laboratory? #### **WHEN** Starting with the first page, we answer your WHEN. The **Demand Behaviour** page identifies and determines your laboratory’s arrival pattern in a clear, easily readable format – enabling you and your staff to know what to expect during a typical week and more precisely, during the course of a day. To go down into specific detail, the drop-down filters allow you to investigate a specific priority, day of week and hour of week in detail. This, accompanied by the interactive synchronised visuals, allows you to filter between visualisations to better understand your data points. #### **WHERE** Next, we address the WHERE. Identifying which departments tests are assigned to provides valuable information to assist you and your team in planning your schedules, ordering sufficient supplies and reagents and ensuring your FTEs and analysers are assigned and programmed efficiently. The **Demand Characteristics** page provides a detailed view of WHERE your volumes are going accompanied by where they came from and how these volumes are distributed by hour of the day, day of the week and priority. You can see the volumes categorised by: - Department - Sample Origin - Test Distributed by: - Day of Week - Hour of Day - Priority And further filtered down to the specific department, sample origin and test type you wish to investigate. #### **HOW** Moving onto our HOW, we address how your volumes are distributed throughout the laboratory. Demand Variation provides a statistical perspective on how the volumes are processed and gives an overview of the laboratory’s highs and lows with a view of your: - Max and Min - Q1, Q3, IQR - Average, Median and Standard Deviation Understanding your **Demand Variation** allows you to identify your standard of operation and accurately respond when arrival and processing of tests and samples are out of the norm. Allowing you to confidently take control of your next steps. **Demand Variation** gives some insight to the volume distribution by department and how the volumes are processed by the laboratory by measuring metrics like: - TAT - Test Volume vs TAT This topic which will be further discussed in Part 3 of our series. The next two pages, **Demand Location** and **Demand Comparison** gives a detailed overview of the volume distribution by Department, Site & Sample Origin which provides a clear, concise, centralised view of where your volumes are distributed. These visuals help you to answer questions like: - Are the departments and sites equipped and prepared to process these arrivals? - Which sites are processing our largest volumes and is this sustainable? - Which sites are our specialised sites? Does this show in the data? #### **Understanding the Past, Predicts the Future** Being able to answer all your laboratory performance related questions from a single source of truth gives you the upper hand on your arrivals and processing. Benefitting your laboratory, your staff and ultimately the patients. 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We offer consulting and data solution implementation services ranging from small scale to enterprise grade ## Related resources [![](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/fresh-produce-sa.webp?width=352&name=fresh-produce-sa.webp)](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/fresh-produce-in-south-africa) ### [Fresh Produce in South Africa](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/fresh-produce-in-south-africa) [![](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/harness-laboratory.webp?width=352&name=harness-laboratory.webp)](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/harnessing-the-power-of-laboratory-data) ### [Harnessing the Power of Laboratory Data](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/harnessing-the-power-of-laboratory-data) [![](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/7%20Strategies%20Blog%20Image.png?width=352&name=7%20Strategies%20Blog%20Image.png)](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/data-dash-7-strategies-to-win-in-the-data-economy) ### [Data Dash – 7 Strategies to Win in the Data Economy](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/blog/data-dash-7-strategies-to-win-in-the-data-economy) ![Coworkers sitting together and smiling outside.](https://booking.datalabsolutions.ai/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/datalab/images/datalab-logo-white.png?width=149&height=40&name=datalab-logo-white.png "Coworkers sitting together and smiling outside.") 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