National Reference Laboratory (NRL) becomes the first fully-automated referral laboratory in the UAE

Highly innovative Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) considerably boosts level of service offered by NRL to healthcare providers
Significant investment demonstrates NRL’s commitment to implement international best practices and set a new benchmark for quality standards and patient safety

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 8 October 2017:  National Reference Laboratory (NRL), part of Mubadala’s network of world-class healthcare providers, has become the first fully-automated referral laboratory in the UAE, enabling NRL to deliver high-quality patient results in the shortest time possible. NRL was created in partnership with and is managed by Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp), a world leading life sciences company providing comprehensive clinical laboratory services.

The Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) solution, installed in the core lab of NRL at ICAD in Abu Dhabi, will further boost the capabilities of NRL, which through its network of ten laboratories currently processes more than 500,000 tests per month for over 200 clients across the MENA region. 

The unique TLA set-up at NRL, one of the latest innovations by the diagnostics leader, Roche Diagnostics, covers all phases of the testing process: pre-analytics, analytics, and post-analytics. One of the key benefits of the system is the significant reduction in percentage of human error, which typically occurs in around 60-70 percent of sample processing in the pre-analytic stage.

Abdul Hamid Oubeisi, Chief Executive Officer of NRL, commented: “The adoption of total laboratory automation is an exciting development for our patients and staff and has already brought multiple benefits for our patients and in our operations. Backed by the highest standards of clinical laboratory services, we go an extra mile to serve our patients and clients. With about 70% of medical decisions influenced by laboratory results, NRL’s investment into a completely automated system minimizing the risk of human errors, highlights our commitment to deliver high-quality care to patients and to offer fast and accurate results to our clients.

Commenting on the successful installation, Harald Wolf, General Manager Roche Diagnostics Middle East, said: “Innovation is at the core of what we do at Roche Diagnostics. We are proud to bring the latest technologies to laboratories like NRL committed to elevating patient care in the UAE and instilling the highest standards of quality in every way possible.”