Feb 19 2011
St. Joseph Hospital has included Siemens StreamLAB Analytical Workcell, a new automated system to prepare blood samples for testing. The system can also send the samples to suitable testing devices.
Eileen Murphy, Chemistry Supervisor for St. Joseph Laboratory Services, has stated that their robotic system enables doctors to get immediate results of the test. She added that they can perform previous diagnosis and obtain results quickly, resulting in reduced time in the ER.
Every year, the medical center performs around 1 million laboratory draws. The new automated system will enable them to promptly deliver reliable laboratory services.
Doug Sargent, Operations Outreach Manager for the Hospital’s Laboratory Services, has mentioned that they have not reduced staff because of the robot. Instead they just redirected their staff to do other significant tasks. Sargent has mentioned that they have included several foolproof features in the program for eliminating the possibility of any aberration. He added that the automated system is highly essential for reducing costs as well as to cope with the lack of experienced and qualified medical lab scientists. He also expressed that the number of retiring staff exceeds those who join the workforce in their laboratory.
Sargent has stated that government policies serve as a major driving force for automation and currently it is the health care plan of Obama. If the plan remains intact, more people will join the health care workforce. Hence their staff strength will also considerably increase. He added that they require proficient scientists to set a quality control with their new automated system.
Source: http://www.stjosephhospital.com