PLUGS Podcast
The PLUGS Podcast aims to empower healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, insurance plans, and patients by enhancing lab stewardship. Laboratory stewardship has five key improvement goals: 1) enhanced access to testing, 2) appropriate and accurate test ordering, 3) timely retrieval of test results, 4) correct result interpretation, and 5) financial alignment between patients, labs and payers. Financial alignment means that patients are protected from financial toxicity, labs are paid fairly, and insurance companies do not pay for wasteful test practices.
Through insightful discussions, expert guidance, and valuable resources, the PLUGS Podcast is dedicated to supporting all stakeholders in navigating the complexities of clinical lab stewardship, ultimately promoting both better patient outcomes and financial security.
Episodes
11 episodes
Conflict Management and Apology in Laboratory Stewardship
In this 11th edition of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Jane Dickerson, Mike Astion and Geoff Baird work through cases of conflict management and apology related to laboratory stewardship. The cases come from PLUGS members and add depth to our recent P...
Laboratory Genetic Counselors to the Rescue
In this 10th edition of the PLUGS podcast Dr. Mike Astion interviews Paige Haas and Darci Sternen, who are Laboratory Genetic Counselors in the Dept of Laboratories at Seattle Childrens Hospital. Paige and Darci are active in our clinical labor...
14 years of PLUGS: Lessons, Relationships, and Progress
In this holiday edition of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Jane Dickerson, Mike Astion andGeoff Baird reflect on the history and learnings from PLUGS, as well as from thestewardship practices at the University of Washington, Seattle Childrens a...
Huge Test Panels in the Search for Personal Purity
In this episode of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Mike Astion and Geoff Bairddiscuss the massive testing panels associated with the belief that the environment–through its many metals, biotoxins, microbes, and allergens—is a significant source...
Incompetence Beepers, Lampshade Hats, Kindergarten Probability Classes, Happy False Positives, and Labs Driving Healthcare Off the Fiscal Cliff
In this episode of the PLUGS podcast, Drs. Mike Astion and Geoff Bairddiscuss some foundational principles in lab stewardship and management. Give a listen.05:30 Dunning-Kruger effect: dealing with incompetence through feedback from<...
Medical – Legal Collaboration to Improve Laboratory Stewardship
In this episode, Dr. Geoff Baird and I interview Elizabeth Pendo, the Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and the Kell-eye Y Testy Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law. Our topic is medical legal collaboration t...
Live from the PLUGS Summit: Egregious Overutilization, Maintaining the Lab’s Power, “Free” Testing; Stewardship Tips, and More
This version of the podcast was recorded live at the PLUGS Summit in Seattle Washington on April 4, 2025. As part of the Summit, we invited attendees to a PLUGS podcast recording on the second day of the Summit. The goal was to disc...
Improving Test Interpretation through Personal Reference Ranges, AI and Statistical Literacy
In this episode of the PLUGS Podcast, Dr. Mike Astion and Dr. Geoff Baird interview Dr. Brody Foy, a mathematician and computer scientist who researches practical improvements in interpreting clinical lab data. Dr. Foy discusses the practical u...
Navigating the Lab Data Marketplace: Opportunities, Logistics, Risks, Rewards
Using every academic trick in the book, including the invocation of “my mother medicine” and an analogy to flying cars, Drs. Mike Astion and Geoff Baird interview Bridget Wegner, Director of Partnerships at Clarivate about the commercialization...
California Dreamin': Improving Lab Stewardship at UCLA with Dr. Allison Chambliss
Summary:In this episode of the Plugs podcast, Dr. Mike Astion interviews Dr. Allison Chambliss, Director of Laboratory Stewardship at UCLA Health, which recently won PLUGS Member of the Year. Dr. Chambliss discusses her role in enhancing la...
Terrible People or Terrible Choices? Characteristics of Bad Ideas in Lab Stewardship and How to Avoid Them
Dr. Mike Astion from Seattle Children's Hospital and the University of Washington (UW) hosts a podcast about the root causes of bad ideas in lab stewardship, featuring Dr. Geoffrey Baird, the Chair of the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine an...