Decoding Clinical Chemistry: A Discussion with Gen Giovannone from SEKISUI Diagnostics on Open Channel Reagents & Their Impact on Medical Laboratories

In the Medical Laboratory Observer Quick Chat, Gen Giovannone, Senior Manager, Clinical Chemistry Inside Sales at SEKISUI Diagnostics, discusses various aspects of clinical chemistry and open channel reagents:

1. SEKISUI Diagnostics’ Role: Giovannone outlines how we specialize in manufacturing open channel chemistry reagents used on a variety of clinical chemistry analyzers offering support throughout the sales and onboarding process.
   
   
2. Challenges in the Clinical Chemistry Labs: The major hurdle labs face is accomplishing more with less, due to declining reimbursement rates and shortage of medical laboratory professionals. We aid in easing this challenge by streamlining customer operations and providing necessary parameters for individual lab protocol customization.
   
   
3. Open Channel Reagents: Also known as pour over or user-defined reagents, these are poured from the manufacturer's bottle into analyzer-specific containers for use. Users manually define the channel with the reagent's information according to the suggested guidelines.
   
   
4. Benefits of Open Channel Reagents: Open channel reagents are cost-effective, generate less waste, and offer flexibility in terms of test menus, potentially expanding in-house tests and accelerating patient result delivery.
   
   
5. Vendor Considerations: When selecting a vendor for open channel reagents, labs should consider supply shortages and establish a trusted source to ensure continued patient care despite any possible supply chain issues.