Lab Automation

Connecting to Your Remote Clinics

December 3, 2012

Lab with test tubes and microscopes.

Now Remote Clinics Have Easy Information Access

If you’re working with remote clinics or other satellite stations, you may be dealing with problems ranging from communication issues to mix-ups. Getting test information and patient records to the outside labs you’re working with can get messy. Imagine never having to play phone tag again, and for your partners to have access to all your information that they can view and print on their own time. They can use the barcode labels and records you’ve already prepared quickly and easily, and there will be no more fussing with disorganized specimens. Everything you can do, they can do.

It’s like becoming an extension of the same big body, rather than a piece floating around by itself, calling out to the main hub whenever it needs something. A system like this builds structure, which is essential when working with one or several different remote clinics. A Laboratory Information System is the obvious solution in this situation. Not only are these systems highly customizable and scalable, but they can work for outside locations, as well. If there’s a machine or instrument that can be networked, it can be interfaced with the main lab.

Among the benefits of a system like this are the ability to send and receive documented specimens, access to any patient or test information, ability to automatically print new test orders, and eliminating much of the prep work, allowing employees to immediately process orders rather than preparing and recording everything first. Historical results will always be available at the click of a button, so no more calls chasing after old results. Ultimately, this is a way to help your partners help themselves, which helps YOU in the long run.

Here are a few remote operations that may benefit from interfacing: