Case Study

Streamlined and Affordable Healthcare Logistics Solutions for BakoDx

After a patient’s biopsy kit went to the wrong physician’s office — again — the healthcare supply chain manager at BakoDx knew she needed to work with a healthcare logistics company that would provide solutions for this issue and other challenges she was experiencing with their current lab distributor.

“The partnership is what’s most important — BioTouch’s expertise is in logistics and supply chain management. They really listen to our needs and challenges, and we depend on them to guide us in the right direction.”

— Teri, Senior Supply Chain Manager, BakoDx

Company
Profile

Company Size

240 Employees
Industry

Diagnostic Laboratory
Active Clients

7,500
Cases Diagnosed

250,000⁺ Annually

Client Overview & Industry

BakoDx (Bako) is a premier pathology services partner that has served the podiatric medical community for fifteen years. As a national, CLIA licensed, CAP accredited, state-of-the-art laboratory, Bako Diagnostics provides diagnostic intelligence and therapeutic services focusing on the nail, skin, soft tissue, nerve, and bone of the lower extremities. Our pathology team’s unparalleled expertise equips physicians with actionable diagnostic reporting to optimize patient care. BakoDx is dedicated to the advancement of podiatric dermatology through education, research, and financial support, unmatched by any other national lab or pathology group.

Client Challenge

Reduce Shipping Errors — BakoDx needed a system in place to reduce errors in shipping to make sure our physician clients were getting the medical kits they needed. For instance, when a physician needs a biopsy kit, we need to ensure all items are included in that medical kit so that the physician is able to perform the biopsy in a controlled setting. If one item is missing from the kit, the procedure cannot be performed. Before BioTouch, physicians would often receive incomplete medical kits.
Increase Accuracy of Results — In another example, a requisition form was sent to the wrong physician’s office, resulting in Patient A’s biopsy results landing on the desk of the physician treating Patient B, and vice versa. The risks involved in that are numerous – physicians and patients receive incorrect test results during a time-sensitive period, HIPPA violations are possible, and patient care is compromised.
Increase Efficiency — Alternate lab distributors were offering cookie-cutter approaches that didn’t fit BakoDx’s unique, high-volume needs. We needed a healthcare logistics solutions partner who could provide customized options and innovative solutions.
Reduce Excess Costs — As an extra expense, we were subletting warehouse space to store marketing materials and supplies, which also meant we had to allocate an essential team member to manage the space when they could have been instrumental in other tasks more important to our operations.

Solution & Outcome

By partnering with BioTouch, we were able to implement the highest quality control measures to avoid errors in shipping and requisition orders. With the safeguards they implemented, we are now able to easily track each medical kit and requisition order in real-time. With BioTouch’s tracking technology system, we know who placed the order, the date it was placed, the date it was shipped, and so on — significantly increasing accuracy and reducing errors.
BioTouch is proactive in creating new and custom cost-effective processes for the changing demands and needs of our diagnostic lab and our clients. And BioTouch can pivot quickly if something unexpected comes up. For example, a major delivery company was preparing to go on strike, which would have stopped our delivery service, affecting our network of 7,500-plus physicians. BioTouch planned for this scenario weeks ahead, creating a solution that involved its network of trusted medical couriers and the reformatting of all of our shipping labels to make sure our deliveries would continue without interruption.
BioTouch offered its marketing services to our company so we did not have to do it ourselves. We no longer had to pay for the warehouse sublet and our warehouse manager was moved to a more critically needed role within BakoDx, making it a win-win.