Flexible Testing and Real Savings
Updated: Oct 4
Syndromic respiratory testing works best when the lab can choose what goes on the panel. Here is why flexible panels matter for reimbursement and diagnostic stewardship.
Nicholas Decker, MBA, MLS(ASCP), Administrative Laboratory Director and Founder of Decker Laboratory Consulting LLC, shares how his team overcame reimbursement challenges and advanced diagnostic stewardship with the help of the flexible syndromic LIAISON PLEX Respiratory Flex Assay.
We are firm believers in syndromic testing, but we want the ability to craft the perfect panel.
Why fixed panels create problems
Large fixed respiratory panels test for every target on the panel every time, whether or not the patient's presentation calls for it. That can mean results nobody needed, higher cost per test and reimbursement friction when payers will cover only the targets that are medically necessary. Laboratories end up choosing between a broad panel that is hard to get paid for and a narrow one that misses what clinicians need.
What a flexible panel changes
A flexible assay lets the lab report only the targets that fit the clinical question, while the broader panel stays available when it is warranted. That supports:
Diagnostic stewardship: clinicians get the results they asked for, not a list of extra targets to interpret.
Reimbursement alignment: orders can match payer coverage policies more closely.
Cost control: the lab avoids paying for targets it does not need to report.
Watch the full conversation
In the video below, Nicholas talks through how his team approached the reimbursement challenges and put flexible syndromic testing into practice.
Key takeaways
Syndromic testing is most valuable when the panel matches the clinical question.
Flexible panels help align testing with payer coverage and stewardship goals.
Panel design is an operational and financial decision as much as a clinical one.
The views shared are solely my own and should not be interpreted as those of any current or past employer or client.
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