Ann Lab Med.  2016 Jan;36(1):49-54. 10.3343/alm.2016.36.1.49.

Efficiency of an Automated Reception and Turnaround Time Management System for the Phlebotomy Room

• Yun SG
• Shin JW
• Park ES
• Bang HI
• Kang JG

• KMID: 2373497
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2016.36.1.49

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Recent advances in laboratory information systems have largely been focused on automation. However, the phlebotomy services have not been completely automated. To address this issue, we introduced an automated reception and turnaround time (TAT) management system, for the first time in Korea, whereby the patient's information is transmitted directly to the actual phlebotomy site and the TAT for each phlebotomy step can be monitored at a glance.
METHODS
The GNT5 system (Energium Co., Ltd., Korea) was installed in June 2013. The automated reception and TAT management system has been in operation since February 2014. Integration of the automated reception machine with the GNT5 allowed for direct transmission of laboratory order information to the GNT5 without involving any manual reception step. We used the mean TAT from reception to actual phlebotomy as the parameter for evaluating the efficiency of our system.
RESULTS
Mean TAT decreased from 5:45 min to 2:42 min after operationalization of the system. The mean number of patients in queue decreased from 2.9 to 1.0. Further, the number of cases taking more than five minutes from reception to phlebotomy, defined as the defect rate, decreased from 20.1% to 9.7%.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of automated reception and TAT management system was associated with a decrease of overall TAT and an improved workflow at the phlebotomy room.

Keyword

Automation; Phlebotomy; Turnaround time; GNT5 system; Reception

MeSH Terms

Automation, Laboratory
Efficiency, Organizational/*standards
Phlebotomy/*statistics & numerical data
Republic of Korea
Time Factors
Workflow

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Components of the GNT5 phlebotomy assistance system.Abbreviations: BA, barcode applicator; TTT, test tube transfer; MWT, medic work table.

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  Fig. 2 Automated reception machine installed at the outpatient phlebotomy room.

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  Fig. 3 A screenshot of the turnaround time (TAT) management program showing the user interface for real-time monitoring of each step of the phlebotomy process.

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  Fig. 4 Workflow at the outpatient phlebotomy room after installation of automated reception and turnaround time (TAT) management system.Abbreviation: OPD, outpatient department.

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