Specimen tracking software is designed to provide healthcare organizations with full digital visualization of medical specimens as they move from the clinical office to the destination lab.
The right systems can help organizations improve everything from patient safety to early diagnosis to their overall bottom line.
But not all specimen tracking solutions are created equal.
Not all solutions offer healthcare systems the comprehensive and transparent visibility that they need to deliver high-quality, timely care. And not all solutions integrate seamlessly with other cutting-edge technologies.
Faced with a number of options, it’s critical to adopt solutions that are tailored to your needs and offer the right features for your organization. Here are seven things to look for in top-tier specimen tracking software.
As of 2020, only 25-30% of healthcare systems in the U.S. used some kind of tracking solution. But as organizations increasingly realize the benefits of tracking, they’re increasingly adopting technologies to relieve administrative burden and minimize preanalytical errors. It’s why the specimen tracking market — valued at $1 billion in 2023 — is projected to grow by 11.2% between now and 2032.
Yet, many hospital systems still use real-time location systems (RTLS) to track biological specimens throughout their lifecycles. This technology can both limit organizations’ tracking capabilities and strain their finances. RTLS uses active tags that connect to sensors via Wi-Fi, requiring heavy implementation costs, significant maintenance, and the risk of specimen loss. If a tag battery dies, the specimen is lost in the ether.
Look for specimen tracking software backed by radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, which relies on radio waves to send signals to readers. No batteries required, lower costs, better scalability, and minimal complexity.
After analyzing four years’ worth of hospital data, the American Data Network Patient Safety Organization found that 73.7% of all specimen-related errors were preventable.
What if you could be notified of errors in real-time, enabling you and your team to immediately remedy mistakes before they impact patient care?
The right specimen tracking software offers this kind of notification system. If a specimen deviates from its intended lifecycle journey, the system will automatically and immediately send an alert to the clinical team. These notifications help improve the timeliness of diagnosis and care, while significantly reducing regulatory and legal risks.
According to the American Data Network, 60-70% of all medical decisions are based on laboratory results, which means preanalytical or analytical errors can lead to misinformed decision-making. Additionally, the HIPAA Journal reports that more than 168 million patient records were breached in hospital systems across the U.S. in 2023 alone.
These are sobering stats that reveal the severity of security risks healthcare systems face. That’s why it’s critical to adopt a specimen tracking solution that’s built with security and regulatory compliance in mind. Find technology with embedded encryption capabilities and security features like permission-based login and access control.
Top specimen tracking software helps teams monitor biological specimens in real-time and access higher-level data to improve accountability and compliance. When reviewing possible options, search for a solution with robust and easy-to-understand data reporting capabilities.
You’ll want a solution that offers detailed insights on specimen locations, movement histories, and error patterns — all of which will allow you to address systemic issues that may be impacting patient care.
Adopting a new solution often means taking significant time to transition to the new system and train staff to use it. With high patient demand and staffing shortages, today’s healthcare organizations can’t afford that kind of technological downtime.
Find a specimen tracking solution that integrates directly into your current workflow. Interoperable solutions are easy to implement — often requiring very little IT time and resources — and help minimize disruptions to everyday work.
As a standalone solution, specimen tracking can improve patient safety and help speed up diagnosis and treatment. But when integrated into an all-in-one platform, the benefits of specimen tracking are compounded.
Look for a technology vendor that offers a comprehensive platform with easy integrations into your current infrastructure. By combining the power of a specimen tracking solution with a full-scale platform, you’ll also get:
According to a 2024 study of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, AI solutions hold the potential for “enabling enhanced diagnostic accuracy, facilitating personalized treatments, and optimizing operational efficiency."
Specimen tracking solutions that are integrated into platforms with AI assistants offer the greatest benefits to healthcare organizations. These solutions can automatically reorder inventory, offer full digital visualization, automate manual tasks, and more. By reducing staff administrative burden and streamlining operations, AI tools and assistants enable teams to deliver better-quality care.
Any one of these seven features can help you make the most of your specimen tracking software. But taken together in one comprehensive solution, these capabilities enable full-scale digital visualization.
That’s what Pycube’s all-in-one platform and cutting-edge specimen tracking solution can do.
The platform offers real-time, end-to-end visibility into the entire specimen lifecycle, as well as assets, supplies, and transport networks that uphold quality care. Pycube provides decision intelligence that can drive informed action and automations that can boost everything from documentation to compliance to throughput. It’s a comprehensive solution that does much more than track specimens — it transforms healthcare organizations.
Contact us to learn more about Pycube’s suite of advanced solutions.