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2019041114:21:47

How MocDoc Helped Aruna Lab to Reduce the Workload 

Published by: Santhosh

Aruna Clinical Laboratory:

Aruna Lab was founded in the year 1994 by Late Ms. Aruna Rani, a revered medical lab technician. The microbiological laboratory was set up in Pondicherry with the sole aim of providing high-quality, reliable lab services to patients at reasonable prices.

Discovery:

As the glitches in manual handling lead to an array of problems in their processes, Mr. Azhagu, chairman of Aruna Lab, started looking into a complete solution for their business. He was fortunate to discover MocDoc, a software that he strongly believed would precisely fit their requirements.

Business Challenges:

Aruna Lab encompasses 7 laboratories and 1 collection center. Their work process involves the collection of bills from multiple centers, manually creating batch sheets and processing them individually. The offline software used by Aruna Laboratory was not flexible and did not have the capability to handle the labs at multiple locations. Such manual handling added up to their overheads in terms of transportation costs and also increased the risk of billing errors. The manual processes led to an imperfect machine interfacing, which in turn led to delayed and erroneous results which brought down the credibility of the lab

Implementation:

Aruna Lab receives approximately 250 patients every day, and the entire process of billing is manually carried out at a remote destination. This was a challenging and time-consuming task. It was also not easy to handle multiple locations with the previous software.
As Aruna Labs started using the MocDoc laboratory information management system, handling multiple locations became a cakewalk. The billing process was made online and became fully automated.

Aruna Labs started segregating and billing their patients according to their geographic locations
With the new automated process, Aruna Labs bid goodbye to their machine interfacing issues. Aruna Lab started experiencing the real ease of MocDoc software with its automatic process taking over once the patient sample is given.

MocDoc is a user-friendly, intuitive online software for healthcare service providers such as hospitals, clinics, labs, and pharmacies. It is cross-platform compatible and is made available both for Android and iOS devices. Be it a single or multi-chain laboratory, MocDoc is a perfect fit for them in serving them with its many features. Upon implementing MocDoc software, Aruna Lab reaped a whole bunch of benefits including:

  • Integrated billing
  • Improved rate plan
  • Increase in patient count & revenue
  • Reduced errors in billing
  • Reduction in overall transportation cost
  • High security with no 3rd party access

Results:

MocDoc helped Aruna Lab in cutting down their operation hours significantly. It has promoted better transparency of work processes by eliminating third-party access to the account unless the owner’s permission is granted. The overall productivity and rate plan saw substantial improvement, and this resulted in an increased patient footfall. The overall efficiency of the network of Aruna Lab was improved by seamlessly connecting the labs at multiple locations using the MocDoc laboratory information management system. Aruna Lab was also able to enhance its credibility and branding.

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As labs are updated and become more modern, better methods of data management and record-keeping may be necessary to maintain or improve efficiency.  Luckily, there is a means to achieve this: Laboratory Information Management Systems, or LIMS.

With the increase in disease and the growth in the medical diagnosis sector, the number of samples collected is increasing day by day. With the help of Machine interfacing, labs can handle a large volume of samples easily, increasing the efficiency of sample processing and the quality of lab reports.

Types of Machine Interfacing in Laboratory Information Management System(LIMS):


Uni-Directional Instruments:

Overview: Uni-directional instruments operate on a one-way communication system, facilitating the seamless transfer of information from the samples to the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). In this setup, results are stored within the LIMS database upon the completion of the test process. Unlike bi-directional instruments, which support two-way communication, uni-directional instruments focus on unidimensional data flow.

Workflow Process: The workflow involves manual sample placement by the technician, who assumes the responsibility of strategically positioning samples for analysis. Additionally, the technician plays a crucial role in determining the specific type of sampling method to be employed. This hands-on approach ensures that the instrument receives accurate and relevant data for subsequent processing.

Result Storage: Upon completion of the test, the results are systematically stored in the LIMS database. This unidirectional flow of information simplifies data management, with the LIMS acting as a centralized repository for comprehensive result storage. This streamlined process contributes to the efficiency of data retrieval and analysis within the laboratory setting.

Technician Involvement: The technician's involvement is pivotal in the uni-directional instrument setup, as they guide the initial placement of samples and make informed decisions about the sampling technique. This level of manual intervention ensures precision and control over the testing process, aligning with the laboratory's specific requirements and protocols.

Uni-directional instruments, by emphasizing one-way communication and manual input from skilled technicians, contribute to a structured and controlled laboratory environment where data accuracy and integrity are paramount.

Bi-directional Instruments:

Advanced Functionality: Bi-directional instruments represent a higher level of sophistication and advancement in laboratory technology. These instruments possess the capability to not only generate output data reports and results but also feature an Application Programming Interface (API). This advanced functionality enables the seamless exchange of data, information, commands, functions, and worklists with the system.

Output Data Reports: One key feature of bi-directional instruments is their ability to generate comprehensive output data reports. These reports provide a detailed analysis of test results and relevant information, offering a comprehensive view of the findings. The generated reports serve as valuable documentation for further analysis and decision-making processes.

Results Generation: Bi-directional instruments excel at producing accurate and timely results. The dual communication capabilities allow for efficient data transfer, ensuring that results are not only generated promptly but also transmitted seamlessly to the designated system or database.

Application Programming Interface (API): A defining feature of bi-directional instruments is the inclusion of an Application Programming Interface (API). This interface facilitates the exchange of data, information, and commands between the instrument and the broader laboratory system. The API functionality enhances interoperability, enabling the instrument to import and export data with ease.

Enhanced Connectivity: Bi-directional instruments contribute to enhanced connectivity within the laboratory ecosystem. The ability to import data, information, commands, functions, and worklists through the API fosters a dynamic and integrated environment. This connectivity streamlines laboratory processes, promoting efficiency and accuracy in data handling.

Our LIMS System sends commands to the sampling unit on the type of sampling to be conducted with the given sample. After the testing is done by the LIMS command, the results are auto-fetched on the LIMS Server. The bi-directional instruments are interfaced with the LIMS system programmatically.

The Need to Interface Instruments with LIMS Software:


There are several reasons why it is beneficiary to interface lab instruments with LIMS Software. Let us look into a few reasons here:

Increase in Productivity by Effective Machine Utilization:

Interfacing your instruments with your LIMS Software is a one-time investment of cost and work with a repetitive increase in lab productivity and effectiveness. Interfacing LIMS Software with your lab instruments removes many complexities like manual entering of data every time or referring data from other instruments to the LIMS. This altogether saves a lot of time and effort when done by a LIMS rather than manually, also avoiding any human errors during data entry.

Utilizing machines effectively can increase productivity drastically.  When the task is done manually, very few samples are completely analyzed in the given period, but with MI they can perform many sample processing and that will increase machine utilization and increase revenue.

Increase in Data Quality by Reducing Manual Errors:

The second best reason for interfacing your lab instruments with your LIMS Software is the increase in data quality and integrity. As a human, we are eligible to commit human errors that might not be over-influential over the system as a whole but might still be considered an error. By removing human interference, these errors are avoided thereby guaranteeing better data transfer in the system.

Similarly, transcribing data into the system by people can also lead to common errors affecting the quality of data. Data integrity is considered a very important issue in laboratories. By interfacing your instruments to your LIMS System, you will eliminate this issue.

Saves Time in output generation thereby satisfying the patients:

Machine Interfacing helps to analyze the given samples at a faster rate and generates quality results within a shorter duration of time. After the result processing is done, the report will be generated manually.

With the use of MI, ultimate patient satisfaction can be achieved by generating the results in a quick manner with good quality.

Machine interfacing in laboratories is more of a comfort rather than a negative factor. What might be a one-time investment in your labs can save a lot of time and work when interfaced properly with your systems.

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In every industry, modern laboratories are under pressure to enhance operational efficiency, decrease costs, control regulatory compliance, and improve quality. Apart from this, the rise of CRO (Contract Research Organization) and R&D externalization strategies in the industry of pharmaceuticals has led to laboratories gathering enormous data from different partners, preceding a significant increase in the complexity of lab workflow.


LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) and informatics Solutions are being used in the pharmaceutical industry to meet these challenges. The main reason why cloud-based LIMS is preferred is due to its advanced features like 

● Decreased cost,

● Automatic software updates,

● Disaster and backup recovery services,

● Rapid implementation of LIMS,

● Flexibility,

● Security,

● Accessibility,

● Collaborations. 


One of the successful Laboratory solutions and laboratory report software used by most users is SaaS. Let's explore the SaaS in depth below. 


What is SaaS?

SaaS(Software as a Service), is one of the software distribution models and types of cloud computing like IaaS and PaaS. The third-party provider hosts the program rather than downloading and installing the software to run on your PC. Once the software is hosted, it's accessed over the internet by users via a web user interface.


Why SaaS, a cloud-based LIMS, is perfect for your lab? 

SaaS, pathology management software provides plenty of excellent benefits that make it the preferred option of every lab. According to the Forrester Research Inc. survey held last year, 15% of SMB (Small to Medium Businesses) and 16% of the larger organizations make use of SaaS. Compared to the previous year's research, the larger enterprise has seen a 33% increase in the Usage of SaaS. Considering the smaller enterprise, they have seen a 50% increase in SaaS. Below are some reasons to state why Cloud-based LIMS is the right option for your laboratory. 


Hosting Options:

Few providers provide the private cloud option that can host within your facility. The private cloud option offers different SaaS LIMS benefits but with fewer security risks. A cloud is public; either it can be private, single-tenant, or multi-tenant. It's easier to validate the single-tenant cloud when compared to the multi-tenant as they are less prone to intrusion or data leakage. 


Data Integrity and Audit Trails:

A permanent audit trail is vital for addressing different concerns in data integrity, both from the perspective of product and regulatory quality. You need to ensure that your SaaS LIMS holds a detailed and reliable audit trail for every piece of information. You also need to make sure that the data is maintained continuously on the various servers rather than on the data itself.

Apart from that, you need to ensure that your provider has set their system default to store a completely reliable and flexible audit trail. It also controls the network logs and detailed server. It offers data center third-party auditing insurance. You need to ensure your SaaS LIMS is capable of integrating with the other informatics systems and with your instruments.


Service Level Agreement:

You must develop a Service Level Agreement with your provider who will be able to address all of the above-concerned areas and more. A Service Level Agreement that is well written is capable of making the variation between a smooth execution & roll out of your SaaS time overruns, cost, and a few of the unexpected expenses incurred.


Security:

When dealing with a SaaS Laboratory Management System, you will depend upon your providers to secure your pieces of information as it is going to be stored in the cloud. Almost every cloud service provider offers excellent security for your valuable data.

Even though the data breach risk is less, few organizations that belong to heavily regulated areas hesitate to enable their information to move away from their firewall. Make sure you have evaluated the policies of your security thoroughly. It means you have your data secured adequately before working with SaaS LIMS.


Validation:

The important compliance responsibility with every regulation resets with the service provider or manufacturer. Most of the vendors advertise these cloud-based SaaS LIMS as a prevalidated system. But this refers to the network of cloud providers. You need to ensure that you get clear about the meaning of the prevalidated system by the vendor. Also, you need to know what scope is covered so that you can know your system is executed in the right way in the user environment.

Apart from that, SaaS LIMS cloud providers handle every clinical laboratory software patch and upgrade. It ensures that you utilize the system's recent version. You need to understand who should manage revalidation once there is an upgrade or patches take place. 


Business Continuity:

You need to understand how data recovery and backup can be handled, and also explore who is the reason and responsible for it. The details of the guarantee like service, response time, hardware, uptime, etc. provided by the provider should be stated clearly in the SLA (Service Level Agreement). Apart from that, the Service Level Agreement should contain the details of recovery and backup services that are included. Also, it should hold the cost incurred by exploring a few of the optional services.


System Failover:

There can't be anyone who didn't use Google. For instance, what will happen in case a rogue asteroid crashes into the server farms of Google? Nothing happens. Airtight failover technology and Mirrored servers indicate that the news service will display the crater's aerial photos, which once acted as the server farm. High availability and uptime are included in the terms & conditions of the cloud deals that are negotiated in any form.


Instrument Interfacing:

The complexity of the SaaS LIMS is challenging. Private, hosted, and On-Premises cloud LIMS is capable of handling instrument interfacing in the same manner. It is difficult to understand the SaaS LIMS cloud providers' ability, track record, and philosophy when you deal with the instrument interface.


Economics of Scale:

SaaS LIMS cloud providers provide you with more or less due to the technology's specialized use. As many customers utilize identical resources at the same cost, data centers, are slashed, and then the savings are passed to the customer. 


Bottom Line:

In the past few years, technology providers have developed cloud-based SaaS LIMS based on market demand. SaaS LIMS enables to facilitate enhanced scalability, agility, innovation, and connectivity across the lab environment. It helps to increase efficiency in operation as well as decrease cost. The decision to make use of a cloud-based SaaS LIMS will be taken into step by a mix of various concerns like regulatory, operations, and security. The best way to ensure that your corporation benefits the higher from a SaaS approach to a laboratory information management system is to work with a top-notch informatics consultant.

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Published by: Sanjana 2019121012:33:42



Running a productive lab smoothly is tedious. Whether you are dealing with multiple samples or if you have an excessive number of deadlines approaching, following the practical tips given below will help in managing your lab efficiently.


1. Keep an eye on your stuff:

Your inventory covers all the specimens and reagents your lab will need for diagnostic or experimentation analysis. An effective way of sustaining inventory is to use a tool that makes use of barcodes to identify, categorize, and track samples. Regardless, the labels you utilize for vials, racks, tubes, and boxes need to be suitable for the atmosphere in which they will be used. For instance, labels marked ”cryogenic” can come in handy for any reagents stored in freezers or cell lines or specimens stored in liquid nitrogen. 


2. Sustainment is key:

Maintenance of the lab infrastructure is vital to ensure the durability of your reagents and samples. Refrigerators and freezers need to be sustained at the ideal temperature, Co2/O2 levels in each incubator should be controlled carefully, and the stocks of liquid nitrogen and other lab supplies must be replenished. Systems that can control your storage equipment, offering real-time notifications and updates while keeping detailed reports and logs of all parameter-related activity can make this entire process automated, with minimal human intervention, and will ensure that no other thing is missed. These types of systems work with a cloud-based framework and can integrate all reports in a single place and will notify the lab personnel if anything goes wrong.


3. Stay Coordinated:

Spending time in workflow management will enable you to enhance sample traceability, track inventory, improve overall personnel productivity, and more. Incorporating a LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) is an excellent way to do this as it will note the movement of each sample during the testing process, monitor its custody chain, and enable users to schedule downstream processing, analysis, and testing in a smooth manner. Getting the most out of your LIMS by using barcoded labels is critical as both will aid in sample traceability and tracking. 

Communication and coordination are also vital when incorporating any system that optimizes workflow. Holding regular lab meetings will enable you to create and control any LIMS you wish to utilize and also keep a good record of all lab activities with the help of well-annotated lab books and LIMS. 


4. It’s the system, not the people: 

No matter how organized the labs are, errors will occur. Designing barriers and openly discussing the mistakes will decrease the likelihood of them reappearing. By introducing multiple checkpoints and verifications, you can reduce the chances that the mistakes will stack up causing unanticipated consequences. However, this should not be done without compromising the speed of processing in the lab.  Maintaining lab infrastructure, keeping a managed inventory, and coordinating your workflow are all kinds of barriers that can prevent critical errors. Managing all related data in your lab books will also enable you to resolve the mistakes as each test or experiment can be verified with comprehensive documentation even if the person is no longer a lab member. 


5. Utilize Common Sense: 

Some labs are specialized in carrying out a small set of techniques that need specific labels. For instance, Xylene-resistant labels for histochemistry labs. Regardless, most of the labs do not have tremendous resources with which to buy labels and equipment. Managing a lab cannot be like a one-size-fits-all approach. In this case, it’s crucial to assess what the issues are and to come up with answers from both financial and organizational standpoints. In most cases, simple solutions are enough. For instance, you can have signed-up sheets either online or on paper for machines like biosafety, centrifuges, cabinets, thermocyclers, etc. 


6. Thinking Creatively:

Following the current trends are important. You need to make sure that you’re thinking in a creative manner even for simpler things as it can help avoid issues in the lab and also can enhance the research pace. 


7. Collaboration: 

Efficient communication is crucial regardless of the lab you work in, but with every member consistently working on various techniques or projects, it's possible that they fall out of the habit of collaborating. Lab meetings are a significant way to solve problems, especially at the beginning of the week, so that everyone knows what their tasks are and how to complete them. It’s a good habit to make a relationship with your office mates even outside the lab as this helps to have excellent communication. 


Hope the above blog helped you to know about managing a lab productively and its benefits in depth.


For More Information Visit MocDoc LIMS Software

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An Introduction to LIMS Software:

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is software that is used in labs for data management and to process a large number of lab samples to manage laboratory workflow. With LIMS, the lab can automate workflows, integrate instruments, and manage samples and associated information. Additionally, labs can produce valid results quickly and can track data across experiments to improve efficiency.

LIMS that are commonly used in clinical labs fall under the following categories:


The benefits of using LIMS Software in your lab are:

  • Workflow automation
  • Integrate instruments or other in-lab systems
  • Centralize access and storage of data
  • Track data from sequencing runs
  • Initiate downstream data analysis

The Efficiency of LIMS System:

The main purpose of using the LIMS System in a lab is to improve the efficiency of sample processing and management. Using LIMS would cut down on the need for manual tasks thereby increasing the accuracy of sample analysis. LIMS captures data automatically, gets processed, and is stored for future reference. The LIMs vendor you choose will define the proceeding process of the software.

Generally, the process of a LIMS is divided into five stages:

  • The sample is logged in after reception.
  • Assignment, scheduling, and tracking of the sample and the analytical workload.
  • Processing and quality control associated with the sample.
  • Storage of data associated with the sample analysis.
  • Inspection, approval, and compilation of the sample data for report generation and further analysis.

Types of LIS Modules Used In Clinical Laboratory:

The features of Laboratory Information System (LIS) have seen evolutionary growth over the years from sample tracking to enterprise resource planning for clinical and specialty laboratories.

A typical workflow pattern of a LIS in a clinical lab flows through three phases:

  • Pre-analytical: Specimen collection.
  • Analytical: testing of the specimens.
  • Post-analytical: Result review.

The LIS modules are used by various laboratory departments like:

  • Blood Bank
  • Immunology
  • Hematology
  • Microbiology
  • Clinical chemistry
  • Histopathology

Various Common Functionalities Used In LIMS:

With the progress in technology, the functions of a LIMS progress too. LIMS software is built in a way to support any upcoming progress while effectively working on a basic set of definite functionalities like the collection of data, tracking of samples, processing, data storage, and report generation.

Some of the core functionalities of LIMS are explained below:

Sample Management:

LIMS was created to help in the process of sample management systems occurring in laboratories. This system gets initiated when a sample is received in a laboratory and gets registered in a LIMS. Since a large number of samples are collected and analyzed in a day, it would be difficult to record the samples without the chance of being confused with other analyses. With LIMS, It would be easier to track the sample if it is labeled and assigned correctly by using RFID on the samples or barcodes.

The information collected and stored via a LIMS would fall under the following criteria:

  • Details about the person whose sample is taken.
  • Details of the doctor/clinic who recommended an analysis.
  • The tests/analysis needed to be taken on the sample.
  • Stages of the sample and destination.
  • Storing procedures.
  • Expected report generation date.
  • Record creation for future purposes.

Workflow Management:

The need for workflow management using a LIMS is as important as Sample management and record-holding. The accuracy of a working system does not just depend on the data; it needs an on-point process assessment where a LIMS system can be used. As the name indicates, workflow management helps automate workflows and assign work if delegated precisely in the software.

All you would have to do for better workflow management using LIMS is:

  • Enter proper codes to direct the LIMS system for a work assignment.
  • Configure the process flow of the work for sample analysis.
  • Assign exact instruments for the particular work.

Workflow management using a LIMS saves time and conducts the job with precision.

EMR/EHR Software:

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) / Electronic Health Record (EHR) is software that collects and stores information on the patient’s medical history in the form of records that can be shared via different healthcare mediums. Many LIMS have this EMR/EHR Software functionality built-in in their system. Using a LIMS with an EHR function will be a huge asset to your lab as the real-time data exchange can be made possible easily.

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Published by: Sanjana 2018080807:57:04