Preparing Your Laboratory for the Start of Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time starts on Sunday, March 8th, 2026, at 2 a.m., when clocks “spring forward” one hour. While the loss of an hour of sleep can be felt across the workforce, laboratories can also experience temporary disruptions to time-dependent processes if the transition is not managed carefully. At JTG Consulting Group, we have supported many labs through these transitions, and we know that a little preparation can prevent downstream issues across your LIS, instruments, and workflows. 

This guide highlights what to review before the time change, what to expect during it, and how to minimize impact to patient care and turnaround times.

Communicate Early and Often 

Before the time change, confirm your communication plan. Notify all laboratory and support staff of any downtime, system updates, or collection changes that may occur. 

Best practice is to: 

• Send notices through at least two platforms (email, Teams, bulletin board, or downtime binder). 

• Repeat the message at least twice to ensure all shifts are covered. 

• Remind teams that the hour from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. will be skipped when clocks move forward.

Clear, consistent communication keeps every department aligned and prevents confusion when systems come back online. 

Review Instrument and System Settings 

Check which analyzers or interfaces adjust automatically and which require manual updates. Some instrument families—such as older instrument models—have historically needed manual time entry. Assign responsibility in advance so updates are completed promptly. 

If you are a Data Innovations Instrument Manager™ user (version 8.07 and higher), you can choose either automatic or manual time adjustments. Both options are supported, but remember that any feature using time calculations (for example, trickle-feed workflows or “Hold Until Complete” logic) can be temporarily affected during the change.

Data Innovations provides additional guidance on preparing Instrument Manager for Daylight Saving Time transitions, which you can review here: Instrument Manager DST

Know How Your LIS Handles the Skipped Hour 

Different systems respond to time changes in different ways. 

• Epic Beaker: Does not require downtime. Ensure LIS administrators are familiar with Epic’s Managing Daylight Saving Time Strategy Handbook. This guide, available on Epic UserWeb, outlines the recommended steps organizations should follow to keep their Epic environment online safely during the time change, including key configuration considerations and best practices.

• Clinisys (Sunquest): Requires a downtime period to manage the repeat hour. Many organizations review scheduled batch jobs, interface queues, and instrument communication to ensure no processes are configured to run during the skipped hour. Clinisys typically publishes guidance ahead of seasonal clock changes through the ServiceNow portal.

• Cerner and Other LIS Platforms: May vary. Confirm with your LIS administrator or vendor support contact. 

  
  

If downtime is expected, coordinate with IT to determine when to pause and resume interfaces and what steps staff should take to maintain continuity. 

Plan for Collections and Result Reporting 

Time changes can confuse timed collections and STAT/ASAP orders that overlap the repeat hour for some applications. Phlebotomy and nursing teams should review collection schedules and confirm how timestamps will display. 

If your site uses downtime workflows, make sure all manual processes are ready and documented. Notify the hospital house supervisor or key units if results may be delayed or delivered through downtime reporting. Early awareness helps clinicians interpret timestamps accurately and trust the data. 

Validate After the Change 

Once systems are back online, verify that all timestamps align correctly. Reconcile any mismatched collection or result times and confirm that middleware and interfaces resumed without error. 

Instrument and LIS logs can help identify any out-of-order messages or transmission delays that may have occurred during the time change. Document any findings so they can be used to improve preparation for future Daylight Saving Time transitions.

If you need assistance, contact your internal IT or informatics support first, then reach out to your vendor’s regional support team if needed. For JTG clients, your consulting team can review your configuration and help prepare system-specific downtime or validation steps. 

Closing Thoughts 

While Daylight Saving Time can seem like a minor event, even small time discrepancies can ripple through instrument interfaces, LIS workflows, and downstream systems. Proactive preparation helps keep data accurate, turnaround times consistent, and patient care uninterrupted.

The start of Daylight Saving Time is a good opportunity to review system configurations, communicate with staff, and validate that your laboratory systems handle the time shift correctly. Taking a few simple steps ahead of the clock change can help prevent avoidable issues during the transition.