Until recently, this facility's laboratory relied on its aging instruments to process the 600,000 chemistry and 23,000 immunoassay tests it bills annually. Last year, however, as the contracts for these systems were about to expire, the lab decided to investigate other instrument alternatives that could increase lab productivity and streamline sample handling.
“Essentially, we had one technologist who ran both our former instruments.” explained Stephanie Swanson, Kernodle Clinic Laboratory Manager. “We realized we could increase his productivity greatly with an instrument that offered automated sample splitting capabilities. With these capabilities, our lab could also increase our testing volume workload and offer additional services,” she added.
The Search for a New Solution
Armed with a new vision, the lab decided to search for a new solution that could both consolidate workstations and eliminate some manual processes to improve efficiency. After talking to Beckman Coulter, the lab discovered an ideal solution: the UniCel DxC 600i. This new instrument enables clinical laboratories to perform both chemistry and immunoassay testing simultaneously from a single point of sample entry.
“We were very interested in the DxC 600i's combined platform and after learning of its other features, such as its single point of entry, automated closed-tube sampling (CTS) and closed-tube aliquotting (CTA), we knew it was the right fit for our lab,” said Swanson. “Other instruments we looked at simply didn't offer the same features.”
Once the DxC 600i system was installed, the Kernodle Clinic laboratory began to witness immediate results.
“With the CTA's single point of entry and closed tube sampling, we were able to see immediate improvements in efficiency—not to mention higher levels of safety for our technologists,” said Swanson. “By eliminating the de-capping and re-capping steps in the process, our techs could minimize their risk of contamination from airborne pathogens and repetitive motion injuries.”
Remarkable Results
“To be honest, I was slightly skeptical of the DxC 600i system's ability to decrease our turnaround time,” explained Swanson. “However, our sales representative, David Karolenko, showed me how the automated sample handling features would more than make up the time difference while offering the efficiency benefits we needed.”
Turnaround time, however, wasn't the only noticeable improvement.
The lab also witnessed a decrease in the amount of time necessary for daily system start-up—thanks to a large onboard reagent capacity (89 reagents) and auto-generation of quality control results. Kernodle also noticed a decrease in required system maintenance.
The addition of the DL2000 data manager has further increased Kernodle Clinic's overall efficiency. The lab especially enjoys its reflex testing feature, which follows user-defined rules to repeat tests automatically, if necessary, or order additional specified tests on-demand. Often, this feature keeps technologists from having to search through multiple samples to locate the one that needs a repeat or reflex test. Plus, the DxC 600i system's auto-generated QC ensures all cartridges have been quality controlled—enabling staff members to load up the instrument in the morning and run tests all day long.
Although the lab is not yet using the DL2000's auto-validation feature, Swanson says she plans to adopt the process soon, which will decrease the lab's manual review rates and further free technologists to focus on abnormal samples.
Next Steps
Now that the DxC 600i system is in place, Kernodle Clinic is excited about what the future holds for the laboratory.
“There are a number of tests that we've been wanting to bring in-house—such as Free T4, Direct LDL and Lipase—but we've been reluctant because the technologists simply couldn't process any more samples,” said Swanson. “The DxC 600i system's efficiency will enable us to add these tests—and even more as the clinic grows.”
“Because of the DxC 600i, our technologists are spending less time on manual processes and can be techs once again—analyzing data and focusing on problem specimens and abnormal results,” stated Swanson. “We are so appreciative of Beckman Coulter for helping us to reach our goals.” |
