Seasonal waves of respiratory viruses—including RSV, influenza, and COVID-19—can push even well-prepared laboratories to their limits. When diagnostic requests multiply, staffing and reagent shortages can quickly bottleneck workflows. The result? Delayed turnaround time (TAT) and downstream effects on patient care.
To stay ahead, labs need more than available test kits—they need diagnostic flexibility, smart workflow design, and rapid-response tools that maintain both speed and accuracy.
The Challenge: Triple-Virus Seasons Strain Lab Capacity
During recent respiratory seasons, simultaneous spikes in RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 have overwhelmed testing capacity and made demand difficult to forecast (1). According to a 2024 report, laboratory understaffing and burnout continue to threaten patient care, particularly during high-volume periods (2).
Even minor inefficiencies—manual data entry, unclear triage steps, or slow result reporting—compound under pressure. When TAT suffers, clinicians can’t make timely treatment or discharge decisions, creating ripple effects across the care continuum.
3 Proven Strategies to Improve Diagnostic Turnaround
- Refine Triage Protocols
Structured triage trees help clinicians match patients to the right testing modality—rapid antigen vs. molecular—based on urgency, risk, or setting. This ensures high-priority cases are addressed first, without overloading central lab instruments (3).
Explore the CDC’s guidance on respiratory testing
- Automate Where It Counts
Automation of intake and reporting—barcode labeling, digital order entry, and automatic result delivery—reduces manual handoffs and transcription errors. Studies show automation improves both accuracy and throughput, helping teams maintain TAT even during surges (3).
- Stock Rapid Tests Strategically
Pre-positioning rapid RSV and influenza tests in emergency, pediatric, and urgent care areas eliminates transport delays and enables real-time decision-making. This approach also frees up molecular analyzers for high-complexity or confirmatory testing.
Why Rapid Testing Is Critical
Rapid assays deliver results in as little as 15–30 minutes, supporting immediate clinical decisions and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use. In pediatric and outpatient settings, rapid influenza diagnostic tests enable earlier clinical decision-making and timely initiation of antiviral treatment, which can improve patient management and outcomes (4).
Learn more about Rapid Tests - Sekisui Diagnostics
By handling high-volume, routine cases at the point of care, rapid antigen tests relieve the central lab of lower-acuity workload—helping maintain balance between accuracy and efficiency across the system.
How Sekisui Diagnostics Supports Respiratory Surge Readiness
Sekisui Diagnostics partners with healthcare teams to maintain readiness and reliability when every minute counts. Our solutions include:
- OSOM® RSV Rapid Test – delivers dependable results in minutes.
- Flexible packaging and shelf life – ideal for surge stocking and distributed testing.
- Training and support resources – help staff ramp up quickly with minimal downtime.
When combined with process automation and well-defined triage workflows, rapid diagnostics become a cornerstone of surge-ready lab operations.
The Bottom Line
Diagnostic surges aren’t rare—they’re recurring operational stress tests. Labs that routinely assess their workflows, evaluate test menu flexibility, and adopt rapid response tools are better positioned to deliver timely, high-quality results when patient demand peaks.
Explore more point-of-care testing solutions from Sekisui Diagnostics to help your lab stay fast, accurate, and prepared.
References
1. Respiratory Therapy. The Tripledemic Surge. Respiratory Therapy. [Online] January 2024. https://respiratory-therapy.com/disorders-diseases/infectious-diseases/influenza/the-tripledemic-is-surging/.
2. Pennic, Fred. Lab Staff Burnout and Understaffing Threaten Patient Care, Survey Reveals. HIT Consultant. [Online] HIT Consultant, August 2024. https://hitconsultant.net/2024/08/05/lab-staff-burnout-and-understaffing-threaten-patient-care/.
3. Center for Disease Control. Testing and Respiratory Viruses. CDC. [Online] Center for Disease Control, August 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/testing.html.
4. —. Rapid Diagnostic Testing for Influenza: Information for Clinical Laboratory Directors. CDC. [Online] Center for Disease Control, August 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/php/laboratories/rapidlab.html.
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