Consider this scenario: A patient sees a specialist for a concerning lump on their neck. After examining the patient, the physician orders a biopsy and sends the specimen to a local lab. With no specimen tracking system in place, though, the provider has no idea that the sample is lost in transit. It takes another month to realize the error, reschedule a new biopsy with the busy patient, and receive critical news about the patient’s condition — precious time they didn’t have.
This kind of preanalytical error happens all too often, and it impacts both patients and healthcare organizations alike.
Responsible for upholding high-quality care delivery, clinical teams need advanced specimen tracking solutions to ensure their patients are safe and well taken care of in their service.
Here are five factors that improve patient safety and care quality, and how full-scale digital visualization can support them.
Medical specimens undergo three main phases throughout their lifecycle: the preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical phases. The preanalytical phase involves collecting, labeling, and transporting specimens — and it’s where 46-68% of errors occur, according to research.
Mishandled or lost specimens not only cost healthcare organizations money, but also negatively impact the patient experience. At best, patients need to redo their medical sampling. At worst, preanalytical errors can affect diagnostics and treatment.
Specimen tracking software with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology help minimize the number of errors that occur in this phase. Clinical teams can track tagged specimens via an intuitive dashboard, ensuring samples get exactly where they need to go. If errors do occur, the specimen tracking system can notify teams in real time so they can address it immediately.
Timely diagnosis doesn’t just improve the patient experience. It’s also been proven to support preventive care, aid in effective treatment for serious conditions, and lead to higher survival rates for certain diseases.
Roche reports that the five-year survival rate for breast cancer survivors who are diagnosed at an advanced stage is 10-39%. When those patients are diagnosed earlier on, that range jumps to 83-96%.
Similarly, one study found that patients with HIV who started treatment early saw a 57% reduced risk of AIDS, compared with those who started treatment later.
By reducing errors and enabling clinical teams to monitor progress in real time, specimen tracking software optimizes the specimen lifecycle. Transparent visualization allows teams to verify the accuracy of samples in transit and track specimens at every stage of their journey, ensuring both providers and patients get the answers they need as quickly as possible.
The contribution of human error to clinical errors is commonly known as the “Swiss cheese model” — a situation in which several barriers layer on top of one another to result in clinical mistakes that might impact patients. According to one study, the Swiss cheese model of human error is often due to “organizational issues such as overbooked clinics, extra patients added to operating lists, and no time allocated for rest breaks.”
With high staff turnover and overburdened providers, it’s all too easy for the Swiss cheese layers of error to take effect. Organizations can reduce some of that burden by implementing specimen tracking software that automates much of the logistics that staff would otherwise have to handle manually. Operational efficiency often leads to more manageable workloads, which can help plug the holes in the Swiss cheese model of human error.
Data analytics are a must-have in today’s healthcare environment. They’re commonly used to:
When integrated into a robust platform with AI-powered analytics capabilities, specimen tracking solutions can help teams spot patterns, identify errors, and address pervasive issues that impact patient care. Essentially, the right data helps ensure that the right patients get the right information at the right time.
Local, state, and federal healthcare regulations are put in place to enhance patient safety and ensure data privacy. In a study of nearly 30,000 medical specimens, however, nearly 4,000 instances of preanalytical noncompliance occurred. That’s 13.76% of all specimens put in transit.
These kind of errors can put patient safety at risk and, in some cases, lead to regulatory fines that can quickly add up for organizations. By minimizing errors throughout the specimen lifecycle, a specimen tracking system can save organizations from these headaches, while ensuring the highest quality of care delivery.
While specimen tracking systems can support clinical teams in providing the best possible care, not all systems are created equal.
Consider advanced systems like Pycube’s Digital Specimen solution, which offers complete visibility and accountability for every stage of the specimen lifecycle. With AI-powered analytics, seamless integrations, and real-time notifications, Digital Specimen enables enhanced digital visualization and specimen monitoring.
Ready to learn more about Pycube’s cutting-edge Digital Specimen solution? Reach out today.