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A user of IMPAC’s electronic medical record (EMR) system since
1994, West Michigan Cancer Center (WMCC) wanted a laboratory
information system (LIS) system
that would interface with their EMR. In 2003 one of the
hospitals with which WMCC is affiliated was switching to new
computers, providing the opportunity to replace their old lab
system with IMPAC’s LIS as a beta test site. Tina Commans, a
WMCC medical technologist, spent four days at IMPAC headquarters
for training prior to the installation of the system, which went
live in May 2003. “As a beta site, we had our share of problems
at first,” recalls Commans, “but support was excellent and many
problems have been fixed since we implemented our system, which
has streamlined our practice.”
Eliminating Paper
Since WMCC’s previous LIS didn’t interface with the EMR system,
CBC reports were printed out and given to patients to deliver to
physicians at their appointment. This process led to misplaced
reports and often the need for replacement copies before
treatment could begin. “Today, the interface between IMPAC’s LIS
and EMR brings across demographics from the EMR and, in turn,
sends results to the charting system within three or four
minutes. Eliminating paper in our process means there’s no more
lost documentation,” says Commans.
Graphing Capability
“The lab system’s graphing capability is huge for me,” explains
Commans, who appreciates being able to see trends in patients’
progress and make sure that CBC patterns are consistent with
treatment. She also likes the ease of using the LIS windows and
the ability to have multiple windows open at the same time. In
her nine years as a medical technologist she has used three
different lab systems. “With the others, you could only view one
window at a time and you had to open a different system to find
various lab results,” she explains. “IMPAC’s LIS makes that
hassle a thing of the past.” |
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West Michigan Cancer Center, Kalamazoo, MI
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[Email
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