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Operating Efficiency
The laboratory services at Slocum-Dickson Medical Group, in New
Hartford, NY, a freestanding outpatient facility, operate in
much the way of a busy city hospital. With more than 50
physicians practicing in 24 specialties, this lab runs nearly
200 reports daily. More than 30 employees work together to
process requests, perform procedures on patients, and ultimately
release results to physicians. Some disciplines, such as medical
oncology, mandate ‘STAT’ results, requiring a fast turnaround in
the reports prior to patient treatments. What once was an
arduous progression of sorting and processing paperwork is now
streamlined with the IntelliLab laboratory information system.
With IntelliLab, information flows seamlessly between the lab
and physicians for viewing the latest lab results, printing lab
reports, or reviewing a patient’s historical record
(graphically, or in a chart format).
Improved Patient Care
Frankie Luley, assistant lab supervisor at
Slocum-Dickson, noted that report turnaround time decreased
dramatically when IntelliLab was implemented. According to Luley,
“the endless stream of paperwork required for each specimen
often resulted in misplaced reports and increased turnaround
time, as many results had to be read over the phone.” Luley
states that human error has virtually been removed now that
reports are sent electronically to each physician. IntelliLab
enables the results to be “flagged” if necessary, further
increasing quality assurance and patient care. Physicians are
able to gain quick and easy access to the complete medical
history, alongside the lab results, enabling them to make
appropriate clinical decisions.
Economic Benefit
Luley estimates the cost savings with IntelliLab to be thousands
of dollars. Not only does the faster turnaround time and
paperless processing account for the savings, but also “lost
charges” are now captured electronically. Additionally, being
“paperless” saves the laboratory two reams of paper per day,
which is not only fiscally beneficial, but environmentally
responsible as well.
Catalogue Reporting
Physicians at Slocum-Dickson also make use of the custom
reporting feature of IntelliLab, enabling them to choose
specific data sets in a report format. These reports may be
fiscal, demographic, or research generated. For instance, a
physician can customize a report to determine how many patients
have a fasting glucose result level above or below a defined
threshold. Such customized reports are tantamount to obtaining
data for research, and ultimately, have allowed Slocum-Dickson
to improve the overall quality of patient care. |
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Slocum-Dickson Medical Group, New Hartford, NY
Frankie Luley and Herman Vanhatten of Slocum-Dickson Medical
Group |
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[Email
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