ASCP DLM cheat sheet

Management controls complexity through planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling; leadership creates direction and alignment through vision and influence.

Situational leadership matches directing, coaching, supporting, or delegating to follower competence and commitment.

Kotter's eight change steps begin with urgency and coalition and end by anchoring changes in culture.

Thomas-Killmann conflict modes are competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating; collaborate for high-stakes issues needing commitment.

Delegation rule: authority should match responsibility, but accountability for the outcome remains with the manager.

Tuckman team stages are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.

Herzberg: hygiene factors such as pay, policy, and working conditions prevent dissatisfaction; motivators such as achievement, recognition, and growth create satisfaction.

SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Span of control is the number of direct reports; narrower spans suit complex, high-risk work, and unity of command means one supervisor.

An operating budget covers recurring revenue and expenses for one fiscal year; a capital budget plans long-lived asset purchases.

Variance = actual minus budget; for expenses, actual below budget is favorable and actual above budget is unfavorable; revenue variance direction reverses.

Break-even units = fixed costs divided by price minus variable cost per unit.

Contribution margin = revenue minus variable costs; contribution margin ratio = contribution margin divided by revenue.

ROI = gain from investment minus investment cost, divided by investment cost.

Payback period = initial investment divided by annual net cash inflow; shorter is preferred when other factors are equal.

NPV decision rule: accept a project with NPV greater than zero; IRR decision rule: accept if IRR exceeds the cost of capital.

Cost per test = total direct and allocated indirect costs divided by number of tests; fixed costs stay constant across volume while variable costs change per test.

Current ratio = current assets divided by current liabilities; quick ratio = current assets minus inventory, divided by current liabilities.

Takt time = available work time divided by customer demand; it sets the required completion pace.

Little's Law: work in process = throughput multiplied by cycle time.

Theory of constraints: identify the bottleneck, exploit it, subordinate other steps, elevate it, then repeat.

Lean wastes include transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, and defects.

DMAIC means define, measure, analyze, improve, and control; it is used for reducing variation in existing processes.

PDSA means plan, do, study, and act; small tests of change are scaled after documented improvement.

FTE = paid productive hours divided by 2,080 annual full-time hours; productivity = output divided by input, such as tests per FTE.

Turnaround time = result release time minus order or collection time; monitor median and 90th percentile, not only the mean.

Specimen rejection rate = rejected specimens divided by total specimens received, multiplied by 100.

Job analysis produces the job description, which lists duties, and the job specification, which lists qualifications.

FTE = total paid hours divided by 2,080; required FTEs = workload hours divided by productive hours per FTE.

Structured, behavior-based interviews with defined rating scales are more defensible than unstructured interviews.

Progressive discipline sequence is verbal warning, written warning, suspension, and termination, with documentation and due process.

Turnover rate = separations during the period divided by average headcount during the period, multiplied by 100.

Compa-ratio = employee salary divided by salary range midpoint; 1.0 means pay equals the midpoint.

FLSA exempt employees are salaried and not eligible for overtime; non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime.

Kirkpatrick training evaluation levels are reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

Competency assessment verifies observed skills against defined standards; credentialing verifies qualifications and privileging authorizes specific duties.

Quality control monitors individual test runs; quality assurance evaluates the overall system; quality improvement deliberately changes the system.

FMEA risk priority number = severity multiplied by occurrence multiplied by detection; higher scores receive priority.

Control charts distinguish common-cause from special-cause variation; control limits are typically plus or minus three sigma and are not specification limits.

Pareto principle: roughly 80 percent of problems arise from 20 percent of causes; rank causes before selecting projects.

Six Sigma DMAIC phases are define, measure, analyze, improve, and control; the goal is 3.4 defects per million opportunities.

Indicators are structure for resources, process for actions, or outcome for results.

Root cause tools include 5 Whys, fishbone diagram, and fault tree analysis; corrective action addresses cause, not symptom.

PDSA cycles test changes on a small scale before spread; run charts show time-ordered data and shifts or trends.

CAPA combines corrective action for an existing problem with preventive action for a potential problem; effectiveness must be verified.

CLIA certificate types are waiver, provider-performed microscopy, compliance, and accreditation; requirements differ by test complexity.

CLIA waived tests must be simple and have low risk of erroneous results; moderate- or high-complexity testing requires higher personnel and proficiency testing standards.

Proficiency testing must be performed by laboratory staff using the laboratory's routine methods; referral to another laboratory is prohibited.

HIPAA permits use or disclosure of PHI for treatment, payment, and operations; other uses generally require authorization or minimum-necessary limitation.

OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires an exposure control plan, hepatitis B vaccination offer, PPE, training, and post-exposure evaluation.

A Chemical Hygiene Plan and Safety Data Sheets communicate hazardous chemical handling, storage, and spill procedures.

Compliance program elements include written policies, a compliance officer, training, monitoring, reporting mechanisms, enforcement, and corrective action.

Record retention periods are set by CLIA, CAP, state law, and payer contracts; the longest applicable requirement governs.

Accreditation surveys use tracer methodology to follow a patient's path through the system and verify processes at the point of care.

LOINC codes identify laboratory tests and observations; SNOMED CT codes clinical findings; CPT codes support billing.

HL7 version 2 messages are event-driven and segment-based; FHIR uses web resources and APIs for granular exchange.

ALCOA data integrity means attributable, legible, contemporaneous, original, and accurate.

Autoverification releases results only when QC, delta checks, reference ranges, and critical-value rules pass; exceptions require manual review.

A downtime procedure must define manual result capture, later data entry, and reconciliation to prevent lost or duplicated results.

HIPAA security safeguards are administrative, physical, and technical; access control and audit trails are required protections.

Critical value notification requires timely communication, read-back verification, and documentation of recipient and time.

An interface engine routes and transforms messages between LIS, middleware, and EHR; it can queue messages during downtime.

Business continuity planning includes data backup, recovery time objectives, and recovery point objectives; disaster recovery is tested.

SWOT identifies internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats.

PESTLE scans political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental forces.

Porter's five forces are rivalry, new entrants, substitutes, supplier power, and buyer power.

Porter generic strategies are cost leadership, differentiation, and focus; lack of a clear strategy risks being stuck in the middle.

Balanced scorecard perspectives are financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth.

SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Ansoff matrix options are market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification.

Gap analysis compares current performance with the desired future state to define strategic initiatives.

A business case includes problem, options, benefits, costs, risks, and recommendation; a pro forma projects revenue, expenses, and cash flow.