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profile: associates in
pathology
Reference Laboratory Improves Service,
Cut Costs with Pathology System |
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Customer Snapshot |
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Associates in Pathology, S.C. (AIP), a reference laboratory that
serves three hospitals and 25 clinics in Wisconsin, found that
adding a laboratory information system (LIS) would yield
significant benefits. Before 1999, everything processed at AIP
required a paper record. “With our patient volume, the use of
paper records to try to perform all our required tasks had
become a nightmare,” recalls Al Prehn, practice manager. “To
survive, we had to move forward and replace our paper system
with an electronic one.”
Top Tech Support
After reviewing products from five vendors, AIP demo’d three and
made several site visits before selecting PowerPath®. According
to Tim Feit, cytology supervisor, “Our comfort level was best
with PowerPath: it had more installations; received better
feedback; and its staff was impressive all the way from sales to
tech support.” Support concerns ranked high for AIP since
PowerPath had extensive support available both online and by
phone. “We’ve experienced no downtime due to PowerPath system
failure, so we seldom call,” says Prehn, “When we seek help
customizing a report, support is excellent.”
Smooth Implementation and Upgrades
Most AIP staff had no computer experience whatsoever but learned
the new system fast. “Once implementation was complete, weekly
conference calls with the implementation manager and programmers
were reassuring,” says Prehn, adding that “We never felt we were
left dangling.” Similar weekly phone conferences with the same
implementation manager and programmer have also made the upgrade
process go smoothly.
Additional Savings & Efficiency
In addition to providing thorough documentation for report
accession through first and final diagnoses to satisfy CAP
regulations, PowerPath makes it easy for users to review
statistics, run reports, and check turn-around times for each
tech and pathologist. Pathology reports reach physicians faster,
with some autofaxed within the hour of diagnosis. PowerPath has
also freed up time for lab technicians since the system
automatically makes labels for slides, keeps records required
for accreditation, and digitally completes searches within the
database without resorting to paper records.
Meeting Future Needs
Looking ahead, AIP is in the process of reviewing PowerPath’s
accounts receivable module and is considering the imaging
module. According to Prehn, “The key to our success is that our
physicians bought into the system, our staff enthusiastically
integrated it into our daily routine, and our board of directors
accepted our recommendations. The key to all that was our
relationship with and confidence in IMPAC. Having experienced
first-hand IMPAC’s commitment to meet our ongoing needs, we are
eager to roll out some of its new enhancements, specifically
those for anatomic pathology, to become even more efficient.” |
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