“Never stop automating your ECG solution.” It’s a lesson of which we were recently reminded when we heard about a problem at one of our client’s clinics.
Some time ago, we had interfaced our WORKflo software to our client’s information system. As a result, all pending ECG orders were being transmitted seamlessly to the clinic. As a result of this interface and the advanced automation that our solution offered, Technicians at the clinic had very few steps to take to perform an ECG test. We felt comfortable telling them, “Just enter the case number, hook up your patient and press the Start button. The system does the rest.”
However, our client told us that problems were occurring at the clinic because the Technicians were making errors in entering the case numbers, despite the fact that all they had to do was copy the case numbers from the test requisitions in front of them. If a test result became linked to an incorrect case number, the client’s information system could not match that test result to a pending order. The discrepancy had to be resolved by human intervention and the service could not be invoiced until the problem was resolved.
The solution to the problem was easy. Each test requisition also included a bar code sticker that the client’s information system generated and this bar code included the case number. Therefore, we sent the clinic a bar code scanner. Now instead of entering the case number using a keyboard, a Technician simply enters the case number by scanning the bar code. Some time is saved, and more importantly, it eliminates the risk of incorrectly entering the case number.
The lesson to us was that an ECG management solution provider must always look for ways to automate tasks. The impact of automating even a small task can be significant to users. In the case of this client, we now say: “You don’t have to use your keyboard to perform a test.”
