Features and News
Howard County & MobiLab Desktop
The excitement in Nancy Smith’s voice was tangible, even over the phone. Howard County General Hospital had successfully achieved the goal it set out to accomplish – significantly reducing mislabeled specimens. Enabling nurses to manage specimen collection using their COWs (Computers on Wheels) is a recent part of the success.
Howard County General Hospital, a member of John Hopkins Medicine, is a not-for-profit, 208-bed comprehensive acute care medical center providing services to over 165,000 residents per year in and around Howard County, Maryland. Nancy Smith, Director of Nursing at Howard County, led the team that implemented MobiLab and subsequently MobiLab Desktop, the solutions that helped the organization achieve their goal.
MobiLab, a mobile phlebotomy solution that runs on small handheld devices, was implemented first. Nancy told us, “We’re relatively unique in that we use a truly decentralized specimen collection model. PCTs [Patient Care Technologists – the equivalent of nurses’ aides] collect the bulk of specimens on many units. They don’t use COWs, so MobiLab on the small handheld devices turned out to be a perfect fit for them.”
On the other hand, nurses who collect and label the remaining specimens on those floors do use COWs for patient care documentation and medication administration. When those nurses were required to utilize an additional device to collect and label specimens, the process became a bit cumbersome. Additionally, Nancy explained, “ICU and Neonatal nurses simply couldn’t spend time reaching for another device, and they collect specimens themselves – they don’t have PCTs.”
Howard County implemented MobiLab Desktop next, knowing it was the right fit for their nursing staff. It runs on PCs (including COWs), and accomplishes everything MobiLab does. Additionally, it everages the larger PC screen area by combining functionality from several handheld screens into fewer MobiLab Desktop screens. Nancy indicated, “We’ve had no problems with it at all, and we’re happy to limit the number of devices our nursing staff must come up to speed on learning to use.”
Now, MobiLab Desktop has been rolled out to every PC in the NICU and ICU, as well as every COW on other floors, and the results are in. “We have been 100% successful in eliminating mislabeled specimens in which the wrong name is on the tube,” indicated Nancy. Rollout in the Pediatric ED is planned for November of this year, while rollout in the main ED is slated for January of 2008. Last but not least, L&D and Peri-Op rollouts will follow thereafter.
When asked about Iatric Systems’ customer service, Nancy responded emphatically, “Awesome! Very, very good. Linda Trask was our implementation consultant, and I don’t think I’ve ever worked with anyone better.”
MobiLab Desktop is available in MAGIC and Client/Server versions. If you haven’t seen MobiLab Desktop in action yet, please join us from the comfort of your own office in November as we demonstrate the system via webcast. We’ve scheduled two dates to choose from:
| Webcast Date | Day | Time |
| November 6, 2007 | Tuesday | 2:00pm Eastern |
| November 8, 2007 | Thursday | 2:00pm Eastern |
To register, simply select the session date, and please be sure to include your name, phone number and hospital name. We’ll promptly send you registration confirmation and instructions on how to participate. Webcasts are open to staff at any hospital operating the Meditech HCIS.
10/25/2007