Diagnostic decision-making is the foundation of quality patient care and is crucial to safe and efficient treatment.
That being the case, for any health facility or diagnostic personnel, the question is pertinent, how to improve diagnostic decision-making?
Factors affecting diagnostic decision-making
A medical white paper cites different causes of delays and errors in diagnostic decision-making, including: ‘some causes are system related such as test results being misplaced or not received by the physician and therefore not acted upon or communicated to the patient.’?
The paper also discusses the need for supporting medical staff with ‘the routine use of tools to help at the point of care.’?
Let’s explore the use of tools at the bedside in addressing system-related delays and errors as we consider how to improve diagnostic decision-making.?
Reducing system related delays and errors in diagnostic decision-making
A study cited in the National Library of Medicine states that ‘about 70 per cent of clinical decisions are based on the results of laboratory analyses.’
Further to that, the pre-analytical phase (all the processes that occur before the laboratory analysis) accounts for about 57 per cent of the entire process between the patient and the analysis result.
As such, introducing tools into your health system workflow to reduce system-related delays and errors can make a significant difference in the efficiency and reliability of data available for diagnostic decisionmakers.
Improving diagnostic decision-making with MSoft eSolutions
Sample360 is a digital, all-in-one, accurate solution that ensures blood samples are correctly identified at the bedside.
It fully integrates with existing systems, as well as offering a scanning and monitoring devise for use at point of care.
Sample360 is completely paperless eliminating sample error or rejection due to illegibility.
It’s cloud-based, and guides the phlebotomist (or other medical staff) on:
- Correct order of samples
- Correct treatment of samples (i.e. temperature and vibration control)
- Correct timestamp of samples, including the sample takers’ name
There is a chain of responsibility recorded for the entire Total Testing Process (TTP), meaning that alerts are raised and sent to the ordering physician, the nurse or phlebotomist, and the lab staff if the viability of the sample has been breached in any way prior to being loaded for analysis.
Hospitals that have integrated MSoft Sample360 into their workflow have found that the barcode labels have eliminated all incidents of wrong blood in tube (WBIT) and all instances of sample rejection.
They also report huge efficiencies in the laboratory, as the sample labels are printed analyser-ready, meaning they no longer need to be relabelled prior to analysis.
Hospitals have found that the efficiencies made on the ward and in the lab lead to test results being obtained more quickly. When accurate test results are in the hands of the medical diagnostic team sooner, clinical decisions can be made more quickly and with greater confidence.
Reducing system errors in the Total Testing Process (TTP) leads to improved diagnostic decision-making and more effective patient care. This is a great win in how to improve diagnostic decision making.
Are you ready for improved diagnostic decision-making?
If you are looking for the tools to streamline the Total Testing Process (TTP) in your hospital or facility, reduce system related errors, and improve accuracy and efficiency contact MSoft eSolutions today for service advice you can trust.
Related from MSoft360
Why is it important to be able to trace a sample back to the source?
Why is tracking a sample important?
How long can blood samples be stored before testing?
How sample tracking can reduce misdiagnosis
How is proper patient identification made in specimen collection?
What are common pre analytical errors?
How to optimise work processes and reduce laboratory costs
