Amalga HIS Laboratory Management

Sophisticated, automated laboratory workflow speeds turnaround time and improves accuracy

Each day, doctors rely on dozens of lab test results to make decisions about the course of care for patients. The laboratory is one of the most vital departments in a hospital—and the better its performance, the more quickly doctors can make informed treatment plans for their patients.

Fully integrated with Microsoft Amalga Hospital Information System (HIS) 2009, Laboratory Management enables hospitals to achieve centralized control over all lab processes, streamlining the management of thousands of data points and specimens so that lab clinicians can focus on faster, more thorough analysis and reporting. Amalga HIS Laboratory Management delivers three core components—hematology, microbiology, and pathology—each offering customized workflow for the major functions of a hospital laboratory. The system is designed to streamline laboratory processes from end to end, enabling:

Efficient, accurate ordering with integrated Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE).
Specimen collection and management, reducing unnecessary repeat draws and verifying patient identification.
Automated testing and verification through seamless interfaces with lab instruments.
Immediate results reporting posted directly to the electronic medical record, with built-in reporting support tools for lab clinicians.
Integration with financial and materials management functions for accurate charge capture and inventory reorder and restock.

Optimizing the critical delivery of lab results to influence effective patient care

Amalga HIS Laboratory Management promotes faster, more accurate results at every step in the lab workflow, from ordering to results delivery. Benefits include:

Dramatically reduced turnaround time. Amalga HIS Laboratory Management reduces the delivery time of lab results by approximately 70 percent as compared to manual workflow. By eliminating manual processes, reducing duplication, and posting results instantly to the Amalga HIS Electronic Medical Record for clinician retrieval, the solution supports labs in meeting their service level agreements for delivery time.
Increased productivity with less staff. Interfacing with a wide array of digital instruments in the lab, Amalga HIS Laboratory Management reduces the staff and time dedicated to manual data entry and specimen tracking. The system provides real-time status of each lab study, allowing doctors to estimate time of delivery without interrupting lab staff as they work.
Communication that fosters better results. Through integration with Amalga HIS, Amalga HIS Laboratory Management provides performance guidance to clinicians. Built-in instructions on the needed amount of a specimen or correct collection vial type ensure that patient specimens are viable when they reach the lab. The specimens for tests electronically monitored in the patient record are stored to prevent unnecessary repetitive draws.
Improved patient safety and accuracy. Using an HL7 engine to interface with lab instruments, Amalga HIS Laboratory Management enables automated import of data, dramatically reducing the likelihood of data-entry errors. Likewise, full integration with the electronic medical record ensures unadulterated results are delivered to clinicians, without data loss or incompatible formatting. Bar-coded labels and bedside bar-code scanning verify patient identity and positive sample identification throughout the collection and testing process.
Clinical information in context. Lab clinicians have real-time access to a patient’s complete electronic medical record, with the latest inpatient and outpatient information from across the health system, including the latest documentation by multiple doctors and nurses about the patient’s condition. This enables lab clinicians to deliver robust analyses based on full clinical knowledge of a patient’s situation.

How It Works

Integration with CPOE

The system permits ordering of single lab tests, panels, or complex order groups involving many auxiliary system orders all directly from the CPOE component of Amalga HIS. Doctors can create repeat or standing orders and receive alerts about duplicate orders within a defined timeframe. The patient record shows current patient specimens in the laboratory that can be used for add-on testing.