While confirmed cases for many respiratory illnesses are currently low, they will almost certainly spread as we move further into fall and winter. Now is the perfect time to prepare and take steps to protect yourself from everything from COVID-19 and influenza to RSV and the common cold.

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by William Morice II, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories, to discuss practical steps for protecting yourself and innovations that are making testing and vaccination easier.

Specific topics of discussion include:

• The importance of vaccinations and preventive measures to keep you healthy.
• Innovations that are making it possible to provide more at-home options for vaccination and testing and when these options will be most beneficial.
• The latest status on avian influenza.

Megan Hoenig, M.S., M.P.H., CGC, explains how Mayo Clinic Laboratories' unique hypermethylation analysis (Mayo ID: MLHPB) provides critical adjunct information for managing Lynch syndrome. That genetic condition increases patients' risk for many kinds of cancer.

Speaker 3: (00:32)
Could you provide our listeners with a little bit about yourself and your background?

Speaker 3: (01:27)
Could you give an overview of our MLH1 hypermethylation, also referred to as MLHPB in our test catalog?

Speaker 3: (02:48)
Can you talk about why your team thought it was really important to develop this test?

Speaker 3: (04:03)
What patients would this testing really benefit?

Speaker 3: (06:10)

How are the results used in patient care?

Speaker 3: (07:56)
Anything else you would like our listeners to hear about MLHPB?

From cyberattacks to utility failures, technology disruptions are a growing risk in an increasingly digitized and automated laboratory environment. Planning for technology disruptions positions laboratories to embrace the full power of automation, artificial intelligence, and digitization while still meeting critical patient care needs during an outage.

In this episode of “Answers From the Lab,” host Bobbi Pritt, M.D., chair of the Division of Clinical Microbiology at Mayo Clinic, is joined by John Osborn, operations administrator in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic, who helps lead efforts to prepare for technology disruptions in the laboratory.

Specific topics of discussion include:

• Immediate considerations when a technology disruption occurs and prioritizing the restoration of systems and processes.
• How to create strategies and tools to guide decision-making and operations amid multiple outage scenarios.
• Lessons learned from real life examples, including the importance of clear communication, empowering lab directors to make decisions, and pre-planning for recovery.
• Preventive measures and risk mitigation strategies you can take today to make it easier to respond during a future incident.