Specimen Tracking James R Pomicter BS MLSASCP jamesposoftcomputer

Specimen Tracking James R. Pomicter, BS, MLS(ASCP) jamespo@softcomputer. com 1

Goals of Client Specimen Tracking Setup • Physical whereabouts of patient sample • Organize workflow - Actions • Decrease/eliminate lost samples • Provide accurate data for TAT statistics

What Can It Do? • Manually Track… § The status and location of every specimen. § To storage areas, with rack# and position. § Workstation Redirections • List Track… § Specimen manifests between sites § Old storage racks to discard • Automatically Track… § § Location of Collecting, Receiving, and Cancelled events Remote Receiving(At intermediate stops) To instruments To Reference Labs

Workflow Details • With basic workflow details may be added that will help you to determine how ST will be able to help.

Workflow • Drawing a flowchart will help clients identify what stops are needed REF 2 Draw Station Nursing Home REF 1 SLAB processing CHM Fridge HEM MLAB processing SERO Freezer CHM Fridge HEM WLAB processing MIC Freezer Trash CHM HEM Fridge Freezer

3 Terms for Every Track……. • Specimen Tracking Vocabulary… § Status: Single character code to describe what is happening to the specimen. • i. e. - C=Collected, R=Received, T=Tested, B=Discarded § Location: Used to describe the GENERIC location of the sample, that many “Places” may qualify to. • i. e. - C=Collecting Site, R=Receiving Site, F=Sent to Ref. Lab, N=In Transit, S=Storage § Place: Used to describe the SPECIFIC physical location of a sample. • i. e. - RECA=Receiving Site A, REF 12 A= Refrigerator 12 Site A, OUTPTCLIN=Outpatient Clinic

Setup • It is recommended to setup ST in the following order… v Multisite- OL/CC v Hosparams 1. 2. 3. 4. Specimen Tracking Status Table Specimen Tracking Location Table Specimen Tracking Stops Table Specimen Tracking – Setup Table (Terminal setup)

Setup Step 1 -Status Table • Used to define STATUS Code • General description of what is happening to specimen. • One Character – Uppercase Letters

Setup Step 1 -Status Table • Typically STATUS codes are already built in your system. • These Code letters are used with Autotracking and are hard coded to the Status Description § Do not deviate from these codes without SCC guidance

Setup Step 2 -Location Table • Used to define LOCATION codes • Recommended to be built the same as STATUS codes for ease of setup • One Character – Uppercase Letters

Setup Step 3 - specimen Stops Table • Combine STATUS/LOCATION codes with an 11 character PLACE code. • Combination of STATUS/LOCATION/PLACE called a STOP • Define every STOP in this grid

Stop table- actions • Action column opens additional options for each STOP

Stops Table (List Specific Options) • For each STOP defined in STOP Grid section, the following fields can be customized, to suit the workflow of that STOP.

Stops Table (List Specific Options) • Physical Location • Enter the Location, Department, Workstation, or Site associated with this STOP. This field can be used for Workstation Redirection and Remote Receiving

Stops Table (List Specific Options) • New List Daily • This generates a new list at the beginning of every day for this stop, and all specimens tracked to this stop will be added to the new list. Great for storage stops. • List Available • This check box allows this STOP to display in the ST List application.

Stops Table (List Specific Options) • Default Next Specimen Stop • Select the next STOP to use as the default when list tracking an entire list.

Stops Table (List Specific Options) • Qualifying specimens only if • This is a field used to qualify tubes to Lists depending on their Container, Location, Department, or Workstation.

Stops Table (List Specific Options) • Sorting order (for report) • The fields checked here will be considered when generating the specimen tracking lists for this stop. • Remote Receive Only • Check this box for any stops with an R-Receiving Status, that should never be able to flag any specimen as Received.

Specimen Setup -Assign Stops to terminals • This table determines which Terminals have access to which STOP

Setup Table • Terminal ID § 5 character ID § Soft. Lab generated ID found at bottom right of screen § OL/CC § Terminals that are setup in the OL/CC table § * All terminals • Hide § Hide STOP from terminal in application menu

OL/CC § If the OL/CC code is used in the “Terminal” column of the ST Setup Table, ALL terminals that belong to that OL/CC will have the same STOPS.

Setup Table • STATUS/LOCATION/PLACE § Choose a pre-existing STOP from the drop down menu

Step 5 – Setup Table • Type, Lo/Dp/Ws, Container § Filters used to dictate what can or cannot be tracked by this terminal to this STOP. § Positive and Negative Logic

Step 5 – Setup Table • Actions § Same as STOP table § Difference? § STOP table Actions occur when something is LIST tracked to that STOP § Setup table Actions occur when something is individually tracked to that STOP

Specimen Setup Actions! • For all Actions, except Tags (T), use the drop down menu to select…

Specimen Setup Actions! (W) - Enable Workstation Redirection: Enables workstation redirection for tests on the scanned tube that are available at that Stop. (N) - Check for Incomplete Tests: Useful for storage stops, this action will check for any unverified results on the specimen. (C) - Collection Labels: Print Collection Labels (L) - Aliquot Labels: Print Aliquot Labels (P) - Use Printer: Define a printer for Labels (B) - Create Aliquot and Print Labels: Once the collection tube is scanned, that tube and all of its aliquots appear at this stop and labels print.

Specimen Setup Actions! (A) - Aliquot: Allows this stop to only track tube that is being Scanned without its aliquot tube. (D) - Discard: This action will not allow this tube to be scanned into any other stop. (U) - Use Actions from Terminal: Copies actions from another terminal listed in the table. (R) - Tag Request: This action requires mandatory data entry into the Tag field before specimens can qualify to a list. This is the action that makes it possible to assign specimens to rack positions. (T) - Pass Tag to Next Stop: This action is used with the Tag Request to pass the Tag data to the next Stop. Without it, the Tag data is lost when the tube is scanned into the next Stop.

Additional Specimen Tracking Setup • Most of the setup should be complete at this point, but there a few other useful features that require additional consideration and setup. • Auto. Tracking • Remote Receiving • Workstation Redirection

Auto. Tracking Setup TR_Auto. Tracking “Y” § STOP has to be setup for terminal (Setup Table) § Tracking Server must be running

Remote Receiving • Another feature your Multisite clients may want to utilize is “Remote Receiving” § This allows specimens to be “Remote Received” at sites other than the testing Depot, but will NOT flag as “Received” in Specimen Tracking or Soft. Lab until they are Received at their testing site. § This helps avoid altering TAT times, pending reports, resulting worklists, etc.

Remote Receiving • Only allows Terminals at testing location to flag specimens as Received. • Intermediate STOPs can receive anywhere in system but it will never set flag.

Remote Receiving Setup TR_Remote. Receiving “Y” • Two setups in Stops Table • Physical Location field • Remote Receiving Only flag

Remote Receiving Setup (Physical Location) • Physical Location • If specimen has any other Loc/Dep/Wrkst than this field in Stops Table, it will be Remote Received.

Remote Receiving Setup (Remote Receiving Only) • Remote Receiving Only • When checked, EVERYTHING tracked to this stop will be Remote Received regardless of Physical Location field.

Qualify containers to a List automatically when scanned.

Brief description of how this should flow/be used. R-Received, L-Laboratory, RKLB Only orders for location RKLB will qualify for this stop. Specimens will be hard received R-Received, P- Processing, RK for FS – only orders that will not be performed at the regional lab will qualify for this stop. Specimens will be Remote Received only. These stops are all hidden, so users should receive all specimens in OE or Phlebotomy in order for the setup to function as follows. Using Rockingham as an example: An order is created at Rockingham, this order contains tests for Rockingham and Fiona Stanley. A user receives all containers in scanner receiving. The containers will be autotracked as follows: The container(s) for the test(s) to be run at Rockingham will be autotracked into the “R L RKLB” stop, the container(s) will be hard received. The container(s) for the test(s) to be run at Fiona Stanley will be autotracked into the “R P RK for FS” stop, the container(s) will be remote received.

A user can go into the Specimen Tracking List option and open the list for the “R P RK for FS” and the system will display a list of all containers that were received at Rockingham, are to be sent to and run at Fiona Stanley, but have not yet been placed on a Transit list. User opens tracking, scans all containers that are to be sent to Rockingham into the “T T RKLB>FSLB” (or the appropriate stop for Bacto, Drug Screens and so on) transit stop and a list is printed. The user opens the “R P RK for FS” list again. If all containers were successfully scanned into the transit stop(s), this list will now be empty. If there were any containers that were scanned in Scanner Receiving, but were not placed into the transit stop, then they will still be on this pending “R P RK for FS” stop.

Workstation Redirection • Specimen Tracked to certain Stops can be workstation redirected based on Specimen Tracking Setup.

Workstation Redirection Setup • Actions • W Action set in • Set on BOTH the Receiving Track for the Original Lab and the Receiving Track for the other Lab.

Workstation Redirection Setup Physical Location set in Stops Table • Set the Physical Location on each Receiving Track you wish to allow Workstation Redirection. • Set to the Loc/Dep/Wkst you want the specimen to be redirected to 40

Check for Incomplete Tests - Storage Track

Questions ? ?