Label printers a 'huge timesaver' for East Quay
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LabelTrace printer |
East Quay Medical Centre carries out patient tests which are sent to the local laboratory for analysis. This used to involve the doctor or nurse filling out the patient details on both a card and a label that are attached to the sample bag and the sample tube.
The local laboratory at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, often found it difficult to read the handwriting or found that some important details were missing. This either resulted in a huge amount of time being wasted trying to locate the individual on the clinical system, or having to create a new record – resulting in many duplicates, making data retrieval difficult.
To solve the problem, the local laboratory worked with the informatics team to pilot the use of printed labels in practices, including East Quay Medical Centre. LabelTrace provided an easy to use labelling system comprising LabelTrace software and a compact Zebra LP2824 barcode label printer that prints a perforated label that splits into two pieces – one to go onto the card, and the other to go onto the tube.
This eliminated the need for surgery staff to handwrite labels, thereby making it far quicker for laboratory staff to log the sample into the lab on the PAS and avoid the creation of duplicate patient records.
Implementing LabelTrace
The LabelTrace solution was provided by healthcare and data specialists Codegate, who initially installed four LabelTrace printers for East Quay Medical Centre as part of the pilot. LabelTrace integrates with all popular clinical systems – an essential feature for practices.
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Sue Knott - Phlebotomist - East Quay |
Within hours of the trial it was immediately apparent that the LabelTrace system was going to be a huge timesaver for both the surgery staff and the lab. There was virtually no training needed as the equipment was very easy to use - an e-mail with instructions was all that was required.
Stark added: “The almost automatic process in printing labels means time taken to add details to the form is reduced dramatically. This means that the doctor, nurse or HCA can spend more time with the patient.
"Typically, blood tests were taking an average of ten minutes per patient but a significant period of this appointment was spent completing the forms by hand. With LabelTrace form filling has meant that there is less time pressure on the appointment.
"For us this has meant this time can be used to carry out other useful patient checks – for example data collection for QOF targets. We have also considered reducing appointments for blood tests to seven and a half or even five minutes.”
As a result of the highly successful trial, East Quay Medical Centre started to think about other areas of the practice that could benefit from LabelTrace. It has now purchased a further 12 LabelTrace printers, which Rachel installed herself.
As well as these being used for all possible forms and paperwork that require patients' details – for example private service forms such as insurance claims and sick notes - the practice also uses the system for forms the patient has to complete and return to the surgery. By using preprinted labels, processing time is saved once the form is received back, as it is easier to read and completed fully.
Stark said: “The LabelTrace system has proved to be hugely popular with all the staff at East Quay Medical Centre. The printers take up very little space on the desk and are very reliable. Codegate were quick to resolve a small problem we had during installation with the interface with EMIS as they have excellent understanding of the clinical IT systems.
"With Codegate and LabelTrace we now have a solution that is saving us huge amounts of time and is helping both our surgery and the laboratory to create a unified system for primary care.”
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