c6-LABORATORY INFORMATICS.docx

LABORATORY INFORMATICS ====================== In the clinical laboratory, personnel use technology every day to input and retrieve specimen data. For phlebotomists, computerization has become critical in the processing, handling, and communication of laboratory processes. These include common proce...

LABORATORY INFORMATICS ====================== In the clinical laboratory, personnel use technology every day to input and retrieve specimen data. For phlebotomists, computerization has become critical in the processing, handling, and communication of laboratory processes. These include common procedures for POC testing, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waived test machinery, and the electronic transmission of results. Depending on the location of testing (hospital, provider\'s office, mobile health unit, ambulance), phlebotomists encounter highly integrated computer systems. These complex systems include the following. - **Manual systems.** Require human interaction during pre-examination, examination, and post-examination steps in the testing process - **Semi-automated systems.** Parts of the testing process require little to no human input - **Automated systems.** Require human intervention only when errors occur It is important to be able to adapt and keep an open mind about informatics. New technologies provide health care facilities with opportunities to move from manual to semi-automated or automated systems, allowing for fewer clinical or documentation errors, timely and accurate reports, and an overall higher quality of patient care. Computer systems can perform quality checks and controls on the input of data, as long as all information is entered correctly. For semi-automated and automated methods of laboratory processing, be sure to input the following: - Patient\'s identification data (name, sex, date of birth) - Ordering provider\'s information - Tests the provider ordered - Date, time, and source of specimen collection - Special notes, including other clinical data - Insurance or billing information Bar codes, quick response (QR) codes, and radio frequency identification (RFID) are examples of informatics increasingly used in practice. Each of these developments reduces errors in transmission and speeds up the processing of specimens. Each health care facility must consider the costs of these systems and ensure that phlebotomists receive training on standardization and privacy protection. As a phlebotomist, you\'ll work with laboratory information systems, electronic medical records, and scheduling systems as part of your daily job tasks. Each organization\'s system and processes are unique, so it is important to learn your facility\'s system, and use it according to the policies and procedures it mandates.