Laboratory Information Management Systems Evaluation - Admission/Application Essay Example

LIMS Evaluation Paper Introduction Laboratory Information Management Systems refers to a software-based laboratory as well as an information management system that offers a set of key features for the support of a modern laboratory operation. Primarily, it is used as a reporting tool where users enter data about a test sample. It is this system which holds the information regarding the movement and location of the sample. In the initial entry of a sample into the system, the LIMS prints a barcode label with the sample’s unique number. Healthcare professionals rely on the Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) to make considerable decisions on patient care and the compulsory programs. Technologists too rely on the same systems to quickly, reliably, and precisely process test results and requests. These two broad categorization areas show that LIMS is to the highest degree valued in the field of medicine. As is widely known, laboratory testing is one of the principal contributors to the cost of patient care that is provided by any health association. For instance, in the United States of America alone, about 3 to 4% of money spent on healthcare is used up in laboratory testing. The laboratory tests also impact on approximately 80% of all the decisions made in healthcare sector (Paszko et al, 55). The Laboratory Information management Systems therefore, represents one of the greatest opportunities for controlling the ever growing costs of healthcare services delivery (Rugg, 15). The aim of this paper is to therefore, compare and contrast the three laboratory information management systems vendors: Sunquest laboratory, Cerner Millenium PathNet, and Medical Information Technology (Meditech) - Meditech Magic. These laboratory information management systems vendors have a common goal which is to efficiently manage the impact of laboratory testing and the cost of patient care. In addition to these, this paper will appraise the Blood Bank System and as well evaluate the Application Service Provider (ASP) models developed by the vendors in compliance to the HIPPA as well a the customers’ demands. Sunquest Information Systems Sunquest Laboratory Information Management Systems delivers market leading outreach solutions and diagnostic information technology that are specifically designed to fulfill the main objectives of healthcare leaders today. Sunquest LIMS has features that are committed to workflow excellence, patient safety, predictive medicine, and patient & physician affinity. This system includes Diagnostic Intelligence that provides clinical metrics and operational metrics that are driven by real time and dashboard. In addition to this, the Sunquest Physician Portan in the Sunquest LIMS supports the relationship between the community and physicians and as well, supports the growth of laboratory outreach facilities. The system also eliminates error and gives optimal business and clinical processes. Consequently, the Sunquest Laboratory Information Management Systems provides an interface that comprehensively manages information and workflows while delivering diagnostic result insights supporting patient care quality (Roebuck, 75). This system has a Specimen Management Accessioning Routing and Tracking (SMART) feature which enhances full automation of laboratory workflows. This system works by generating a positive ROI and prevents errors, hence, allowing hospitals to put their focus on caring for their patients which is what matters most. Another dominant feature in the Sunquest LIMS is the Sunquest Collection Manager. This is a definitive solution that automates the process of collecting specimen and delivers high patient safety levels in the hospitals. This feature delivers the fastest and safest processes of specimen collection through positive patient identification and production label at bedside. This enables the healthcare provider to accurately identify the patient, verify the tubes for collection, and print the labels in a closed loop process. In other words, Sunquest Collection Manager eliminates all errors that are associated with manual collection of specimen and processes of labeling via extending the information system in the laboratory to each bed in the facility (LIS review, 7). The Sunquest Laboratory Information Management Systems also offers reliable diagnostic and lab information systems worldwide to the health care providers. The system delivers interoperable solutions optimizing facility resources and improving patient care quality. According to Sunquest Innovations, the Sunquest Information Systems abides by the federal security laws and gives forward looking statements and results, for example, operation and lab results. This makes the Sunquest Information Systems a valid and reliable system for laboratory owners and the general National Health Service (Wood, 105). Cerner Millennium PathNet Cerner Millennium PathNet addresses solutions to the complexities intrinsic in the environment of hospital laboratories. This system offers solutions in laboratory segment such as anatomic pathology, laboratory outreach, clinical pathology, and molecular diagnostics. The Cerner Millennium Path Net has the capability to interface with the instruments of laboratory and link all required and necessary information into the electronic medical record (EMR) of every patient. This enables the laboratory team to work with each patient in order to ensure their diverse laboratory needs are met (LIS review, 7). The system of Cerner Millennium PathNet is also available via the ASP or cloud-based data center while that other two vendors are not available through ASP. The Cerner Millennium Path Net has various benefits accrued for its use and implementation. These include: improved patient care quality via key patient demographic verification, quality controls, and test results; automated processes of pathology with easy monitoring and tracking of specimen using barcodes, image management, and synoptic reporting; capability of processing large specimen quantities safely while minimizing instances of misplaced or lost specimens; capability of simplifying the complexity of capturing the molecular data with integration of electronic medical records (EMR) and real time access to genetic information; and increasing outreach competitiveness with route and courier management, web-based physician order entry, specimen tracking and results viewing. These features give the Cerner Millennium Path Net an advantage over other laboratory systems (Paxton, 86). The Cerner Millennium Path Net also provides for online ordering of specimen management, procedures, automated instruments in the sections of the laboratory, and result review and assays verification assigned to particular workbenches. The sections of laboratory that benefit from the Cerner Millennium Path Net include hematology, chemistry, urinalysis, toxicology, blood gases, and immunology / serology. As a laboratory system, Cerner Millennium Path Net offers the following additional advantageous features to its users: streamlines the processes with container routing and tracking and sophisticated specimen from remote collection through transport, testing and storage; numerous different formats of result entry are accommodated; contains bar coded specimen labels and collection lists; has specialized functions that perform differential counts; any dilution factor can be keyed in and results calculated and stored for reference in future; interpretations of calculations are automatically performed based on the test results of the components; the laboratory can expedite automatically the critical test and reporting STAT results; supports automatic verification of results based on criteria defined by users; reports are automatically transmitted to fax machines or printers at any remote location like offices of the practicing physicians; provides point of care result entry; provides for online checking, tracking, and reporting of quality control results; the system manages the material lot numbers quality control; supports quality control rules based on westgard as defined by the user; requires immediate documentation and corrective action are required for values of outlier quality control; the users are immediately notified in case the quality control goes out of range; summary or detail reports of quality control are automatically produced on periodic basis; supports patient based quality control; provides functionality to support validation method; makes available secondary validation and review of results; provides user defined report online management with various display criteria and selections for filters; and creates billing transactions upon results verification which captures the workload credit and produces clinical reports (LIS review, 2). The Cerner Millennium Path Net uses the relational Oracle database and enables professionals of pathology to make entries of specific patient information, review them, and eventually disseminate such information to any place within the system virtually. The system allows user to track specimen from the collection time and attach to records of a specific patient in the hospital. PathNet as a unified and comprehensive solution supports departments of core pathology including cellular pathology, general laboratory, blood transfusion laboratories, and microbiology. Evidence of the Cerner Millennium Path Net usage can be traced in the Military Health System integrated by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2005. In 2007, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs integrated the same. PathNet enables the professionals of medical IT to customize the system for specific need of practice through modifying or adding interfaces and specific report or scripts functionality (Paxton, “LIS, EHR tying the knot”). In addition, PathNet can be used in combination or integrated with other Health Information System software like non-Cerner products and Cerner Classic, to allow sharing of patient pathology information facility wide or between facilities. Summarily, the Cerner Millennium Path Net enables physicians to automate the financial, clinical, and managerial processes of their laboratories (Aller). The system simplifies the management of specimen and verifies the pivotal demographics of patients, operational quality controls, and test results. Cerner Millennium Path Net provides its users with: advanced aliquot and specimen identification features, features of auto-verification for advanced accuracy, customized rules and quality control records online review; and comprehensive support for robotics of laboratories and other pre-analytical processor types. Medical Information Technology (Meditech) - Meditech Magic Health information technology (Meditech) entails a wide range of services and products including hardware, software, and infrastructure that are designed to collect, exchange, and store patient data in the clinical and medical practice. Health Information Technology is rapidly becoming the seal of efficient physician practices all over the world. Meditech Magic operating system is designed to effectively operate in the environment of open systems. Meditech Magic is able to run on numerous platforms of hardware, enabling the clients to mix brands of hardware within their network and incorporate the new hardware as developed. Nevertheless, TCP or IP abilities allow Meditech applications to freely communicate within the multi-vendor networks. Most recently, TCP is increasingly being recognized to be the standard link of different technologies of computer networks. The use of computer networking protocols and its interoperability leads to an open architecture. In addition, the Meditech Magic system is connected to other software of the niche and major vendors in order to trade information (“LIS review”). The Meditech Magic has advantageous features required by the users: multitasking ability, simple administration of network, and a graphical user interface making use of applications easy. The Meditech Magic interface is familiar with conventions of Windows such as drop down menu, desktop icons, and dialogue boxes. This was developed for specifically clients that are satisfied with the Magic functionality and needs an incorporation of window like environment. The Meditech Magic has potential for future improvements. This is because of the potential to assume advantage of the various application program interfaces and device drivers from their partner vendors. These may allow Meditech to perform serverless backups that are centralized or even to encrypt streams of data. General laboratories may choose Meditech Magic due to its features that offer maximized system reliability and performance as well as an efficient hierarchical management of database system. The improved storage ability of Meditech enables clients to have their disk space expanded and improve their response time through increasing the data amount able to be cached. The storage includes Big Blocks and EMC Symmetrix. The use of Meditech Magic will result in an improved quality of health care, reduced costs of health care, prevention of medical errors, decreased paperwork, increased efficiencies in administration, and expand access to an affordable healthcare (Paxton, 37). Comparison and contrast between the vendors. All these systems have full transaction loggings, can report lab data focused on meaningful public agencies guidelines via an automated electronic transmission, and all have a programming language though different from each other. However, some of the systems do allow third party updates of tables and rules. Cerner Millennium Path Net however, does not allow for image capture, display and recording. Consequently, all the vendors use software that provides indexed fields in the test definitions of LOINC code. In addition to these, all the three vendors have their systems only offered in English. Blood Bank System The blood bank system has been automated to replace the manual screening tests previously done on blood products. This system is widely used by centers for blood donation and sites for blood transfusion. The blood bank system has a wide range of features; the automated system can run mandated tests for hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis, and the human T cell lymphotropic virus. In addition, the blood bank automation systems can be used to determine blood type and units of blood cross-match donor to a patient who needs phenotype specific blood. The blood banks used by different centers vary in features ranging from the types of tests it can perform, number of tests it can perform per hour, STAT mode availability, and continuous and/ or discrete sampling (Lyod et al, 25). In spite of using varied blood bank systems by different healthcare facilities, all the systems must pass the eligibility standards of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in US and the National Health Service in Britain. Majorly, the blood banks perform functions such as compatibility tests for blood transfusions and donations processing. It enhances quality through battery tests and treatments. There have been problems noted with some blood banks systems used by healthcare facilities (Wood, 15). This includes post transfusion complications and the inadequate efficacy of transfusion. However, United States hospitals are spending more to deal with the impacts of complications that are related to blood donation and transfusions. This has generally improved the quality of blood bank systems used by the centers and sites for blood donation and transfusion (Nevalainen & Marjana, 25). As of January 202, employees dedicated solely to the Cerner Millennium PathNet Blood transfusion unit with regard to blood bank system development, installation and support were only 420 in number. Consequently, only two of the vendors have testing instruments with interfaces specifically designed for automated donor infectious diseases. Sunquest on the other hand has none at all. The vendors also have screening instruments for ABO/Rh/antibody with automated databases. The systems of the vendors is also made available through ASP or the cloud-based data center. In contrast though, except for Cerner Millennium PathNet which has languages such as German, French and Spanish offered on their system, the others have none at all. Sunquest Laboratory has certain unique features, among them its multi-tracking ability that is capable of tracking and managing all units of inventory. Consequently, the vendor has a fully integrated LIMS for reporting, inquiry, quality assurance and maintenance, and as business intelligence dashboard. Works Cited Lloyd, Betty Jane, and Glee L. Webster. Solving blood bank problems. 3rd ed. Dayton, Ohio: Educational Materials for health professionals, Inc., 1990. Print. LIS review CAP. College of American Pathologists, October and November 2012. Web. 26 March 2013 Nevalainen, David E., and Marjana F. Callery. Quality systems in the blood bank and laboratory environment. Abbott Park, Ill.: Abbott Quality Institute ;, 1994. Print. Paxton, Anne, The long, hard road to LIS data conversion CAP. College of American Pathologists, March 2009. Web. 26 March 2013. Roebuck, Kevin. LIMS: laboratory information management system. Newstead, Australia?: Emereo?, 2011. Print. Rugg, George. “Selecting an LIS? What to seek and what to skip” CAP. College of American Pathologists, Nov. 2007. Web. 26 March 2013 Wood, Thomas. Vendors break down business of blood bank systems CAP. College of American Pathologists, September 2012. Web. 26 March 2013< http://www.cap.org/apps/cap.portal?_nfpb=true&cntvwrPtlt_actionOverride=%2 portlet%2FcontentViewer%2Fshow&_windowLabel=cntvwrPtlt&cntvwrPtlt{act onFor .contentReference}=cap_today%2F0912%2F0912e_vendors.html&_state=maxiized&_pageLabel=cntvwr www.cerner.com www.sunqestinfo.com Read More