Ep. 357 Techs and Tools: The Difference a Great Tech Can Make on Practice and Patients with Lake Odom and Chas Sanders

In this episode, host Aaron Fritts is joined by Lake Odom and Chas Sanders. Lake is an IR technologist with over a decade of experience, and Chas is the founder and CEO of MARGIN, a company that handles supply chain and outpatient OBLs and ASCs. They focus on the vital role that techs play in maintaining the culture, workflow, and efficiency in an office-based lab (OBL). --- CHECK OUT OUR SPONSOR Siemens Healthineers https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/ --- SHOW NOTES The episode starts with a discussion on what a team lead should be looking for when hiring a IR or cath lab tech. Lake notes that experience and teamwork skills are essential. However, the willingness to learn can also make up for the lack of experience, especially because experience in one office does not always translate to another practice, since every practice has different needs and procedures. Positive work culture and fair compensation are crucial to employee retention. While the physician plays a large role in defining the culture in a practice, it is also important that IR techs are trusted with the responsibility of maintaining the culture, as their roles are very patient-facing and key in practice efficiency. In the discussion of paying techs on a salary versus an hourly system, Lake notes how a salaried tech is more likely to feel like a part of the team and is more invested in the success of the practice. As the discussion shifts to increasing the efficiency and profitability of a practice, Chas discusses how cost awareness is key. It is vital that the physician engages the techs in this conversation, since they are the ones who order tools. The guests wrap up the episode by emphasizing how putting trust in the techs is crucial to the efficiency and profitability of each practice, as they will be the biggest advocates of the practice to the patients.