Chicago-based Insight Medical Genetics is passionate about helping families, and they do so through both comprehensive genetic testing services and personalized prenatal counseling. Insight’s extensive, cutting-edge testing and research requires lab supplies—lots of them. Ordering research supplies and managing inventory for any lab can be daunting—let alone for two labs at a rapidly progressing practice, especially when you lack direct experience with one of the labs. Kelli Drabik is a technician in Insight’s cytogenetics lab. Her work includes prenatal testing, such as chromosome analysis. Kelli is also responsible for ordering supplies for the cytogenetics lab, as well as for Insight’s molecular lab, where she is not a tech.

Launched in 2013, Insight has thrived by uniquely combining the expertise of a medical center and the personal touch of a private practice. Insight is also growing, with at least 10 scientists and 50 total employees across its original Chicago location and five subsequent surrounding offices. “Our molecular lab is constantly expanding,” Kelli says, adding that the lab is currently working on an excitingly promising pharmacogenetics panel.

This dynamic growth, coupled with Kelli’s less hands-on involvement in the molecular lab, led Kelli and her colleagues to seek a more efficient lab-management system to ensure that ordering and inventory logistics didn’t add undue friction to Insight’s important work. “One of our molecular techs came to me because we were trying to find a way to organize things better, rather than just writing things down on a sheet of paper,” Kelli says. “Our boss said, ‘Go ahead and try it.’”

That “it” Insight tried two years ago was Quartzy, which allowed scientists and techs in both labs to collaboratively and transparently request orders, track inventory, and save money on items that dozens of top suppliers sell directly through Quartzy. It’s safe to say that Kelli and Insight were pleased with their trial—and never turned back.

“It makes it easier to coordinate everything,” Kelli says. “Everything is in one central location. It’s easier to track our supplies and keep track of who’s ordering what. Even our accounting department will go into Quartzy and see what companies we order from and what we’re getting from Quartzy, so it’s a good tracking mechanism even for them.”

Kelli particularly appreciates Quartzy’s Inventory feature, which enables everyone at Insight to quickly find whatever they need within either lab. ”Now they can search and it’s there,” Kelli says. “It helps organize you so much better.”

While improving efficiency in Insight’s cytogenetics lab, Kelli says Quartzy has been absolutely indispensable in the molecular lab, as she orders supplies with which she’s less familiar. “When molecular puts an order in, Quartzy alerts me to let me know when they need something,” Kelli says. She can then order those specific items, or sometimes purchase equivalent items at a lesser price, as suggested by Quartzy.

“Quartzy has been helpful because it will provide an exact match, and I don’t have to look through different companies,” Kelli says. “Our molecular lab uses a lot of different companies, so it has saved me a lot of work in that I don’t have to always create different accounts with various places. I can order it directly.”

Kelli recalls the first time she found an item requested by the molecular lab elsewhere before Quartzy matched it at a lower price. She ordered it through Quartzy, it met the lab’s specific standards, and Kelli began to trust Quartzy for recommending future molecular items at a cost savings. When in doubt, she still collaborates with the lab, of course—just to be sure. “Usually what I’ll do is throw it to our molecular techs and let them investigate it,” Kelli says.

Confidently ordering research items is one thing. Receiving them in a timely and cost-effective manner is another. Kelli says Quartzy checks both of those boxes in terms of exceeding expectations. “On occasion, Quartzy says the order will be delayed, but the lab ends up getting it in a couple of days anyway,” Kelli says. “The free shipping alone is huge in terms of savings.”

Insight prides itself on being both high tech and high touch, “providing personalized counseling and guidance for patients and referring providers in a complex and changing landscape of highly technical and deeply personal matters.” Streamlined lab management helps Insight move forward more quickly, dedicating more invaluable time to research, testing, and counseling.  

Insight’s thoughtful efficiency extends to its valued patients, too. “We’re very big on helping families get everything in order before they even start their plan,” Kelli says.

Quartzy is the world’s No. 1 lab management platform. We help scientists easily organize orders, manage inventory, and save money. We’re free and always will be. Visit Quartzy.com or reach out at info@quartzy.com.

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