|
|
Reliable Operation
In 1995, when it implemented the Tamtron® PowerPath® Anatomic Pathology
System™, Stanford became one of PowerPath’s first
customers. According to Ethan Lynn, the systems analyst
responsible for keeping pathology systems up and running
since 2001, one of the most impressive aspects of the system is
its reliability. “I think the PowerPath system works very well,”
said Lynn. “Over the last two years, it’s only been down twice
during business hours, and that was caused by a problem with
our server.”
Automatic Transcription Saves Time &
Money
The first project implemented under Lynn’s watch was for outside
pathology transcription. After physicians’ dictation is
recorded, Stanford’s transcription service, which is 400 miles
south of Stanford Hospital in Los Angeles, uses PowerPath to
access patient cases over the Internet directly from the
database, transcribe dictations, and then, import the
transcriptions back into the cases – all for next-morning
turnaround. “Making this happen was a technical challenge, since
confidential patient information had to be sent over secure
lines,” Lynn explained. Stanford’s pathology department had
previously relied on in-house transcription.
Case-Centric Views Improve Navigation
IMPAC’s pathology system has made analyzing cases easier for Dr.
Robert West, a pathologist at Stanford Medical School and member
of the staff of Stanford Hospital. “The primary benefit of the
pathology system is the ability to look at a case with just one
or two clicks—to get all the information on a patient’s prior
pathology and then easily order and track tests through the
system and bill for them automatically,” according to West.
Prior to implementing the pathology system the staff struggled
with an antiquated system. West added, “The user-friendly,
multi-panel layout and clean design of the PowerPath system
makes it easy to navigate through patient data.”
Future Plans
Stanford will soon be the first to go live with PowerPath’s new
interface that enables an automatic embosser to label the tissue
storage cassettes, a task that until now has been hand-written
by a pathologist’s assistant. “Automatic labeling will not only
streamline the specimen processing, but will preclude illegible
or error-prone handwriting,” noted Lynn. |
|
 |
|
