Difference between revisions of "User:Shawndouglas/sandbox/sublevel1"

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[[File:Molecular diagnostics qia symphony.jpg|right|270px]]Laboratory computing has positively affected clinical service delivery and laboratory management for decades.<ref name="JonesInform14">{{cite journal |title=Informatics and the Clinical Laboratory |journal=The Clinical Biochemist Reviews |author=Jones, R.G.; Johnson, O.A.; Baststone, G. |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=177–192 |year=2014 |pmid=25336763 |pmc=PMC4204239}}</ref> These benefits are achieved through automation elements that reduce data entry errors, reduce workloads, collect laboratory instrument data, and check for common errors like duplicate test orders.<ref name="PitkusLab18">{{cite journal |title=Laboratory Informatics: An Increasingly Valuable Commodity Emerging from Today's Laboratories |journal=ASCLS Today |author=Pitkus, A. |volume=32 |issue=2 |year=2018 |url=https://ascls.org/laboratory-informatics-an-increasingly-valuable-commodity-emerging-from-today-s-laboratories/ |accessdate=13 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="RaeenHowLab18">{{cite journal |title=How laboratory informatics has impacted healthcare overall |journal=Applied Research Projects |author=Raeen, M.R. |volume=54 |year=2018 |url=https://dc.uthsc.edu/hiimappliedresearch/54 |doi=10.21007/chp.hiim.0056}}</ref> In the world of [[Epidemiology|epidemiological]] testing, those same [[laboratory informatics]] applications—such as [[laboratory information management system]]s (LIMS), [[laboratory information system]]s (LIS), and [[hospital information system]]s (HIS)—provide similar value.  
What types of providers are ordering COVID-19 tests? From surgeons ordering for pre-operation procedures and emergency room physicians for ER patients, to pathology groups and home health care or assisted living centers ordering for their patients, a wide variety of provider types exist. Those provider types and their special needs should be addressed. For example, physicians of record for home health care clients may not only require support for digital signatures in order entry, but additional verbal authorization of the test may also be required. The system should have a means for verifying that these order entry components are entered by the provider.  


Pandemic response realizes benefits through crisis and risk management systems, syndromic surveillance systems, and medical diagnostic tools. As Norwegian researchers Wilson and Jumbert note about humanitarian technologies and pandemics, "collecting information is central to the implementation of an efficient response, including situational information, needs assessment, and operational information."<ref name="WilsonTheNew18">{{cite journal |title=The new informatics of pandemic response: humanitarian technology, efficiency, and the subtle retreat of national agency |journal=Journal of International Humanitarian Action |author=Wilson, C.; Jumbert, M.G. |volume=3 |at=8 |year=2018 |doi=10.1186/s41018-018-0036-5 |pmc=PMC7149122}}</ref> At the response's core is the valuable reporting of public health data (discussed in the next section). As such, those labs and healthcare systems performing disease testing see numerous benefits in adopting and applying informatics solutions to their workflow: improved operations and positive contributions to disease reporting. If those informatics solutions are [[Cloud computing|cloud-based]] and mobile-friendly, those labs and healthcare systems may see additional benefits such as being able to test people anywhere, making testing more flexible and rapid as a result.<ref name="TWATheEight21">{{cite web |url=https://thirdwaveanalytics.com/blog/8-essential-features-sample-management-lims-in-a-covid-19-testing-lab/ |title=The 8 Essential Features for a Sample Management LIMS in a COVID-19 Testing Lab |author=Third Wave Analytics |publisher=Third Wave Analytics |date=05 September 2021 |accessdate=17 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="TonyCOVID21">{{cite web |url=https://www.labcompare.com/10-Featured-Articles/578098-COVID-19-Testing-Labs-Go-Mobile-by-Leveraging-LIMS/ |title=COVID-19 PCR Testing Labs Go Mobile by Leveraging LIMS |author=Tony, J. |work=Labcompare |date=03 August 2021 |accessdate=17 September 2021}}</ref>
Healthcare facilities may also require additional flexibility for portal account creation and use. For example, they may find it useful to have portal log-ins tied to a facility rather than a specific physician. An entity may even wish to provide in-house staff or other related workers access to their COVID-19 test report via the portal, requiring role-based permissions to be built into the portal. Be sure to consider who needs access to what information and whether or not the LIMS or LIS can securely meet those needs.


However, just purchasing a random laboratory informatics solution and putting it to use is no guarantee towards realizing the technology's actual benefits. Careful consideration, discussion, training, and policy adjustment are required to get the most of any new system. It would be beyond the scope of this guide to offer complete advice on acquiring and implementing laboratory informatics solutions. That information can be found in the Association of Public Health Laboratories' ''[[LII:Laboratory Information Systems Project Management: A Guidebook for International Implementations|Laboratory Information Systems Project Management: A Guidebook for International Implementations]]'' or Joe Liscouski's ''[[LII:A Guide for Management: Successfully Applying Laboratory Systems to Your Organization's Work|A Guide for Management: Successfully Applying Laboratory Systems to Your Organization's Work]]''. What follows instead are considerations to make when selecting a solution to assist your organization with [[COVID-19]] (and other types of disease) testing workflows.
Some healthcare systems will require the order entry portion of the provider portal make disease-specific checks or require disease-specific patient symptoms to be entered as part of the order. In the case of COVID-19, a wide majority of healthcare settings are still requiring the patient to be indicating clinical and/or epidemiological evidence of [[SARS-CoV-2]] infection before testing may begin. Does the system provide checks for testing requirements or, at a minimum, allow documentation of patient aspects such as body temperature, symptoms, travel history, and existing health conditions as part of order entry? This may be implemented through something as simple as comment boxes or through a more refined form with checkboxes and other input areas. These checkboxes and test requirements can further aid with automated triaging.<ref name="WeemaesLab20">{{cite journal |title=Laboratory information system requirements to manage the COVID-19 pandemic: A report from the Belgian national reference testing center |journal=JAMIA |author=Weemaes, M.; Martens, S.; Cuypers, L. et al. |at=ocaa081 |year=2020 |doi=10.1093/jamia/ocaa081 |pmid=32348469 |pmc=PMC7197526}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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{{Reflist}}

Revision as of 20:21, 3 February 2022

What types of providers are ordering COVID-19 tests? From surgeons ordering for pre-operation procedures and emergency room physicians for ER patients, to pathology groups and home health care or assisted living centers ordering for their patients, a wide variety of provider types exist. Those provider types and their special needs should be addressed. For example, physicians of record for home health care clients may not only require support for digital signatures in order entry, but additional verbal authorization of the test may also be required. The system should have a means for verifying that these order entry components are entered by the provider.

Healthcare facilities may also require additional flexibility for portal account creation and use. For example, they may find it useful to have portal log-ins tied to a facility rather than a specific physician. An entity may even wish to provide in-house staff or other related workers access to their COVID-19 test report via the portal, requiring role-based permissions to be built into the portal. Be sure to consider who needs access to what information and whether or not the LIMS or LIS can securely meet those needs.

Some healthcare systems will require the order entry portion of the provider portal make disease-specific checks or require disease-specific patient symptoms to be entered as part of the order. In the case of COVID-19, a wide majority of healthcare settings are still requiring the patient to be indicating clinical and/or epidemiological evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection before testing may begin. Does the system provide checks for testing requirements or, at a minimum, allow documentation of patient aspects such as body temperature, symptoms, travel history, and existing health conditions as part of order entry? This may be implemented through something as simple as comment boxes or through a more refined form with checkboxes and other input areas. These checkboxes and test requirements can further aid with automated triaging.[1]

References