Gloucestershire hospitals futureproof clinical pathology pathway
First-of-a-kind deployment of InterSystems LIMS enables Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to gain clinical advantage and streamline processes amid COVID-19 demand
At a time where the UK’s pathology departments are understaffed, InterSystems TrakCare Lab Enterprise has enabled Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to streamline clinical pathology pathways that process up to nine million tests a year.
In a first-of-its-type deployment, the platform is helping the trust create clinical advantage with real-time visibility and traceability of patient tests, as well as driving efficiencies through robust workforce planning capabilities.
Since implementing TrakCare Lab Enterprise in 2021, the trust has gained new visibility into a range of lab processes. This includes visibility into demand, cost, workflow, equipment usage, and quality measures, enabling teams to make better-informed and data-driven business decisions.
The platform addresses the limitations of traditional laboratory information management systems (LIMS), which often fall short in supporting efforts to review operational performance and plan more effectively.
This is the first step on our digital pathology journey and has opened the door to improvements across the department and our hospitals, integrating and working with our existing systems
As a provider of next-generation solutions to power enterprise digital transformation, InterSystems helps customers solve the most-critical data challenges.
Philippa Moore, consultant medical microbiologist at the trust, said: “This is the first step on our digital pathology journey and has opened the door to improvements across the department and our hospitals, integrating and working with our existing systems.
“Supported by the hard work of our entire team and our colleagues at InterSystems, it has transformed the way we operate at Gloucester.
“Having gained more visibility into the entire pathology process, we can now see where backlogs are accumulating and flex staffing accordingly, allowing us to efficiently meet peaks in demand.”
Chris Norton, managing director, for UK and Ireland at InterSystems, adds: “Without the right technology, trusts have had to rely on slow and outdated methods of organising their pathology workforce.
Without the right technology, trusts have had to rely on slow and outdated methods of organising their pathology workforce
“In the context of these challenges, we’re proud to deliver InterSystems TrakCare Lab Enterprise, which has helped provide greater visibility into backlogs and testing turnaround times.
“We’ve been extremely impressed by the resilience of Gloucester staff during this time and look forward to seeing how the technology could bolster their excellent work even further this year.”
The platform will be further developed as part of the trust’s five-year plan, including blood transfusion medicine.