Aspyra's Result Response Generator Tool Automates Follow-Up Testing for LABS, Inc.
Challenge
After outgrowing the functionality of its homegrown lab system, LABS, Inc. began searching for a new solution that would comply with FDA regulatory and HIPAA requirements.
Solution
LABS selected Aspyra's CyberLAB® and WebGateway™ solutions because they easily adapted to the reference lab's workflow, in contrast to competitors' systems, which seemed primarily geared only for the hospital setting.
Results
The Aspyra solutions have helped LABS increase its business 40% since implementation. Customers securely enter orders and patient information via the Web before shipping samples, and Aspyra's Result Response Generator (RRG) tool automates follow-up testing.
Aspyra's CyberLAB Laboratory Information System (LIS) went live in March 2005, and LABS began using WebGateway shortly thereafter for Web-based order entry and results reporting. Aspyra worked closely with LABS to develop a microbiology module that incorporated tools and features that would further enhance processing of a large volume of microbiology specimens. The Microbiology module adapted well and further evolved into a flexible and scalable module able to handle the workflow so results can be efficiently turned around.
Rod Hale, Infectious Disease Supervisor, said, “Understanding the natural resistance to learning a new system, I expected to receive complaints from our staff.” Hale continued. “But, I was pleasantly surprised when I received no complaints. In fact, the staff really liked CyberLAB because it made their jobs easier, and they could do more work in less time.”
One of the reasons that LABS selected CyberLAB was the solution's RRG tool, which enables LABS to develop automated rules for testing. For example, when a specific test returns a specific result, the system can automatically order the additional tests that are needed based on the results from the initial test. “In the past, all of this was a manual process that required a supervisor to review the results and check a manually written log to see if additional tests were needed based on the results from the original tests,” Hale said. “These automated rules greatly increase our efficiency, and they give our organization a competitive edge in the marketplace.”
“We have developed more than 150 customized rules using RRG,” Hale continued. “And, we've integrated the capabilities afforded by the rules into WebGateway. Now, a customer from anywhere in the nation can securely order tests from a menu via WebGateway using a standard Web browser. While ordering, they can indicate the tests that they want and rely on the rules to automatically trigger additional tests based on the results from the original tests. RRG, combined with WebGateway, streamlines the entire process and improves our turnaround times, as well as our levels of customer service.”
WebGateway also streamlines the data entry process and reduces errors. “Before using Aspyra's solutions, customers would send us samples with written orders,” said Teresa Scoggins, Laboratory Information Systems Coordinator at LABS. “Customers now enter orders online via WebGateway and then send us the samples. As a result, we already have information about the donor and the ordered tests in our system before the sample arrives, reducing our staff workload and the potential for data entry errors.”
LABS is now implementing an XML interface from Aspyra so reports will be automatically emailed to the customer's database. Laboratories at LABS are also in the process of incorporating an electronic results notification system that will notify doctors or clinicians of new results as they are released real time, and allows them to securely view those results via a link. “Aspyra has worked diligently to meet our needs, which has resulted in a strong relationship between the two organizations,” Scoggins said. “CyberLAB and WebGateway have been key and critical components to our success.”