A large Outreach Lab at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (UMMC) conducts approximately 8 million tests per year supporting central MA, CT and RI. Scott McAdams, manager, laboratory information systems began an analysis of operations and realized there were many process improvements needed, especially in areas where staff repeatedly spent time doing mundane, predictable tasks. McAdams began looking for technology that would emulate staff in order to speed processing and save FTEs. They selected Boston WorkStation™ (BWS) with the goal of increasing efficiency and accuracy.
Boston WorkStation is a workflow automation and integration technology that provides an environment for on-demand process innovation and development. Boston WorkStation allows healthcare organizations to dynamically respond to changing business and compliance requirements by automating common tasks, creating complex processes, automating interaction with Web sites, or integrating new applications, systems and devices.
UMMC’s first project was to streamline their registration process. Previously, the process required them to pass through several Meditech modules to complete. With BWS, codes are entered into the Laboratory module and BWS automatically populates the abstracting module. They found that BWS allowed them to save 35 seconds per registration. That didn't seem like much until they calculated it over an average of 5,500 registrations per week and found they were saving approximately 60 hours or 1.5 FTEs a week.
McAdams then used BWS to create multiple interfaces between Meditech and clinical instrumentation systems. Bayer Diagnostics performs HCVBDNA testing and sends the result to a rewriteable CD on the non-networked PC (due to regulatory reasons). After the verifying directory reviews data and transfers the data to disc to a network PC and BWS auto-verifies the result in the Meditech system. This change has allowed for both significant time savings and an elimination of transcription errors. The information is dated, making review fast and time efficient, and results in an end to lost or misplaced paperwork.
McAdams also used BWS to create a two-way interface to Sequenom. It uploads patient names and orders to Sequenom and then downloads results to Meditech identifying patients by matching barcodes and names. Before BWS downloads to Meditech it verifies that the two test assays match - if not, BWS sends the results to a file for reporting rather than entering them into Meditech. After extensive testing, McAdams now has the confidence to have the process run unattended and have results reported automatically and directly to physicians thus improving TAT.
Streamlining a process with HIPAA implications, Scott uses BWS to match and sort barcoded samples before sending results directly to correct physicians. This process has improved quality of care as right doctors receive results faster and more accurately than before.
Consultants estimated a cost $40,000-50,000 to create a process that automatically runs daily reports from BAR, Pharmacy, Laboratory or any system and downloads them into an SQL database so that they can be reviewed as necessary. UMMC has been able to download via NPR custom reports to and populate SQL through BWS schedules. Powerful reporting tools are now in the hands of all Lab Administration rather than in an NPR queue in the LIS department.
McAdams has 3 other clinical instrument interfaces including one that allows SMS Cytogenetics text-based reports to download data to Meditech PCI, and he has several other projects using BWS in queue.
