To thrive in the present challenging environment, laboratories need to deliberately focus on how they can create value outside of their own walls. The key to achieving this is in their data. Speakers at G2’s 35th annual Lab Institute conference (Washington D.C.; Oct. 25-27) envisioned a future health care system where laboratories play a critical role in driving system-wide efficiencies and improving patient outcomes by unlocking value in laboratory-generated data. The data already exists, but new efforts are underway at the intersection of information technology and laboratory medicine to harness new insights. As the keepers of this data, laboratories have an exciting opportunity to redefine themselves as a "strategic asset" within the health care system, particularly to health care payers and hospital administrators eager to capitalize on the value behind the data-driven evidence. Previous Shortsighted Focus For too long, says Keith Laughman, CEO of Viewics, laboratories’ emphasis has been on measuring line-item costs, like test prices, rather than measuring the total value laboratories deliver towards patient care. For instance, he told the Lab Institute audience, that test prices have been viewed in isolation rather than considering the possible negative impact cheap tests might have on clinical decision-making, like delaying care. […]