At LHD, we focus on collecting biological samples safely and securely from three types of centres. Namely:
Company owned company operated (COCO) collection centres.
Third party centres that exclusively provide samples to LHD.
Non-exclusive sample collection centres that serve LHD and other labs in the country.

LHD has 22 exclusive COCOs and 1400 other collection centres located all over the island where patients can receive our services.

Process

Samples are collected based on a road map and whenever a sample is ready, an estimated collection time is provided to a centre, so that they can prepare to handover the samples.

LHD has a skilled, well-trained team of Sales Development Supervisors (SDSs) who manages a team of Sales Development Associates (SDAs). SDAs visit sample collection centres to collect samples, in a safe and secure manner, while storing them at an optimum temperature level. They utilise storage boxes with gel ice during transportation in order to achieve this outcome.

Furthermore, LHD also provides proper material such as tubes and containers to store samples and separate boxes to dispose needles in order to maintain hygiene, as per our accreditation standards.

LHD employs around 42 SDAs who are deployed along 32 routes, where they make at least 3 visits a day to each centre. Our SDAs are groomed to follow a stringent quality process, commit to service excellence, adhere to safety and to be customer oriented.

Training and Development

At LHD we understand the importance of providing our staff with adequate training and development so that they can enhance their professional and personal skills to maintain quality standards and uphold the LHD brand name which is associated with excellence.

Phlebotomies are also given training at LHD collection centres and exclusive centres have requested the service of our highly skilled staff. Once phlebotomies go through a technical training period that is conducted within the hospital and gain the required experience, they are transferred to centres where they are responsible for the correct administration of tests.

We focus on developing both technical skills required for the job and soft skills required to provide service excellence to our customers and collaborate with external stakeholders. All these measures embedded in our logistics value chain has enabled us to gain the trust and confidence of our patients while giving us a competitive advantage over other players in the industry.

The importance of Logistics

At LHD we understand that having the right type of front-line staff to engage with patients and provide service excellence is paramount to our success. As such we engage in continuous monitoring, training and coaching to develop staff to meet our logistic standards. As such we strive to develop our staff and processes in such a way that a sample collected is actioned within the shortest specified time, to maintain quality standards and accuracy.

As the most innovative and state-of-the art laboratory in Sri Lanka, LHD has heavily invested in IT and related infrastructure to increase both the quality and efficiency of laboratory operations.

We have leveraged IT most notably in the area of automated information management and the role of our laboratory professionals has been modified in response to this new information environment.

Information Technology is the backbone of our laboratory operations for delivering unmatched value to our customers. It enables our laboratory to deliver accurate, speedy and effective results, utilising state-of-the art laboratory equipment and software. Through our technical collaboration with SRL Diagnostics India, we have a dedicated and experienced team of IT professionals who develop, implement and support IT applications for improving the work processes at LHD. This enables us to enhance Turn-Around-Time (TAT), accuracy and efficiency of patient care by focusing on innovation & latest technologies. CLIMS/CLIMS-Online is the proprietary application used for our laboratory operations. This application is implemented at our lab and collection centres under the license of SRL Diagnostics (India). This application completely automates our laboratory operations and covers all functional areas of a modern multi-specialty laboratory.

CLIMS system minimizes the human intervention / errors throughout the lab process. It uses a globally standardized sample bar coding system for proper sample identification and handling. Bidirectional analyser interfacing with CLIMS completely eliminate human and transcript errors at result entry and review stages, while robust analyser quality control mechanisms ensure the highest accuracy levels of laboratory test results. Step by step TAT tracking and problem sample handling mechanism of CLIMS enables the laboratory management to proactively involve and deliver higher level of care for LHD patients.

Additionally, CLIMS offers the ability to seamlessly integrate with HIS systems of other hospitals and opens doors to partner with these facilities. It has introduced a whole new level of laboratory, doctor and patient interaction, for the first time in Sri Lanka with SMS alerts, web report downloading, report auto emailing, online personal health record archive, online graphical health tracker and a mobile health portal which allows our patients and doctors to access health records at their fingertips.