Cham Regional Hospitals Germany. Back in control: Transforming a region s diagnostic services with the cobas family

Transcription

1 Cham Regional Hospitals Germany Dr Zahnweh, Head Physician Ms Gschwendner, Laboratory Manager COBAS, COBAS IT, LIFE NEEDS ANSWERS and ELECSYS are trademarks of Roche Roche 0710 Roche Diagnostics Ltd. CH-6343 Rotkreuz Switzerland Back in control: Transforming a region s diagnostic services with the cobas family

2 Cham Regional Hospitals, Germany Public hospital central laboratory Network of 3 hospitals, 460 beds 800,000 Clinical Chemistry results per year 100,000 Immunochemistry results per year The rationalization of local laboratory services from three nearby but distinct hospitals in Germany was a task that no-one relished, but sheer necessity drove the project forward. Now Dr Zahnweh and his team have managed a successful transformation to a streamlined service that utilizes IT as a vehicle to have full control over workflow and consumption rates. Thus, ensuring the fastest turn around time for results and full transparency over costs to the benefit of everyone in the three communities.

3 Managing a transformation when Roche gave us a smart, combined laboratory solution it was a big relief. It allowed us to concentrate on other things. The towns of Cham, Roding and Bad Kötzting lie close to each other, nestled near the German border with the Czech Republic. Until recently, each town s hospital served the local community, sourcing diagnostic services from their own individual laboratory. Having three separate laboratories in close proximity meant that each was underfunded, often understaffed and usually ill-equipped. In some instances, the technology was over a generation old and it proved difficult to recruit highly-skilled staff to this environment. Dr Hubert Zahnweh, Head Physician, has a dual role at Cham as he leads both the Medical Department and the laboratory. He sat on the committee that decided how the laboratory services for the three hospitals could be combined to create a new, streamlined, efficient service that would benefit all the stakeholders in the three towns, especially the patients. The debate about the best way forward wasn t easy as people from different hospitals naturally were inclined to defend their own territory. But in the end, the financial imperative to make a change was overwhelming and we were forced into making a decision. Although at one point serious consideration was being given to outsourcing all the laboratory services, Roche were able to demonstrate that with careful planning and budgeting, the development of a new central laboratory at Cham combined with two point of care centers, was not only cost-effective, but also better able to cope with the needs of the community. It must be remembered that the laboratory was only one small part of what we had to do in rationalizing the services from the three hospitals, so when Roche gave us a smart, combined laboratory solution it was a big relief. It allowed us to concentrate on other things....the financial imperative to make a change was overwhelming and we were forced into making a decision.

4 The cobas solution offers flexibility and ease of use Ms Beate Gschwendner, Laboratory Manager, remembers clearly the stress endured by staff at all three laboratories when working under the old set up. Now, the central laboratory based at Cham runs 24 hours a day and operates a very sophisticated work schedule that rotates staff and avoids repetitive routine. This has made it a more attractive working environment and has helped to improve recruitment. It was only made possible by the flexibility of the solution installed by Roche cobas 4000 and cobas 6000 analyzer series working in harmony and coping comfortably with the daily testing workload of the laboratory. In a typical day, 180 samples will be received from Cham itself, 100 from Roding and about 40 from Bad Kötzting. The cobas 6000 analyzer series acts as the workhorse by running both CC and IC tests simultaneously, but the cobas 4000 analyzer series is the key to optimizing the lab s workflow because it can take up any surplus that comes in at busy times without disrupting other jobs. It also runs the nightshift and each machine operates as back up to the other at maintenance time. Here the strength of the cobas family concept becomes clear: the fact that each machine uses the same basic software, the same reagents and the same IT interface (cobas IT 5000 application) means that the quality of the result is the same no matter where it comes from. Ms Gschwendner appreciates this family concept. The consistency and familiarity of design across the system makes it feel like we are just using one machine, even though they perform different tasks for us. That means there are fewer errors. It also helps with my inventory management as the consumables are the same. The consistency and familiarity of design across the systems makes it feel like we are just using one machine, even though they perform different tasks for us. That means there are fewer errors.

5 cobas IT 5000 application: transparent solutions for real clinical benefits A true Lab Information System (LIS) There are some providers recognized as experts in Hospital Information Systems (HIS), but the functionality and software requirements for a LIS are very different. The cobas IT 5000 application was designed as part of the cobas family and so it is a true LIS. For Dr Zahnweh, this was a crucial factor in the decision to go with Roche when the new central laboratory was being planned. Other system providers obviously have analyzers that have their merits, but only Roche were able to supply an IT system designed solely with their cobas analyzers in mind. Other well-known providers could only offer us third party IT solutions and we didn t like the idea of being stuck in the middle if there was a compatibility issue between their hardware and software. Two way communication for speed and efficiency A major benefit of analyzers and IT coming from a sole provider is that bi-directional communication is a given. This means that a test can be ordered on a sample drawn in one of the outlying centres and on reaching the central lab, all that needs to be done is to scan the sample barcode. Paperless, error-free and fast. Optimized and accurate sample control Because the IT system was designed hand-in-hand with cobas, it knows which parameters are where so it can optimize workflow by helping the operator to plan the most efficient test sequences. Furthermore, if a clinician decides half-way through a test run that a particular sample requires another test run on another analyzer, the sample can be found instantly. When the lab is running at full capacity, these benefits can make an enormous difference. Results available wherever clinicians need them When the new set up was first proposed there were many who doubted that it could provide an ideal solution for clinicians working in three different hospitals, but thanks to the cobas IT 5000 application, all those doubts vanished immediately. Doctors at Roding and Bad Kötzting now admit that they receive a much better service than they ever expected. The results are available at workstations in the two point of care sites connected to Cham as soon as the test is completed and all without resorting to a complex paper chase. only Roche were able to supply an IT system designed solely with their cobas analyzers in mind.

6 Staying in control financially If there is one word that sums up the transformation of the laboratories system in Cham/Roding/Bad Kötzting it s control. Previously, everyone and everything felt out of control, but now it s the exact opposite: laboratory managers, staff, clinicians and the payers, feel in complete control. For example reagent use is carefully and continuously monitored through the cobas IT 5000 application and twice a year Roche is able to provide a report to Dr Zahnweh that details his laboratory s consumption of reagents and how it matches up to the quantities that had originally been budgeted. So if too much is going to waste, order quantities can automatically be reduced, or vice versa. The cobas solution offers other financial benefits too, as Dr Zahnweh explains. Cham Regional Hospitals Germany When we decided on a solution, our aim was to shape it around the patients needs. Doctors can now discuss a patient s therapy in the afternoon and decide whether or not they can be released the next day, simply because they got their results back by lunchtime. The potential cost savings for the hospital from this are obvious. Shaping the future with a cobas solution The future for the Cham central laboratory is looking bright. Recently, a psychiatric unit for adults and children from Regensburg was established in Cham. With the Roche cobas solution, the lab can offer Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and also Drug of Abuse Testing, both of which are traditionally difficult for psychiatric units to have easy, round-the-clock access to. As the expansion of this unit is planned, this will be the laboratory s contribution to the expansion of clinical services. We feel really confident that we can continue to grow as a team and as a laboratory by offering an expanding menu of tests without losing the gains in efficiency and cost-effectiveness that we ve worked so hard to achieve.