Roche Point of Care Solution Benefits Dublin Hospital
2 Dec 2011
Point of care (POC) testing at St James Hospital, Dublin is reaping the benefits of using a total POC solution from Roche. 110 fully connected Accu-Chek® Inform II glucose meters and 5 cobas b 221 blood gas analysers are managed centrally from the Biochemistry Department using the Roche cobas® IT 1000 data management software. This has allowed significant time savings, more efficient workload management, and has helped the hospital to meet accreditation requirements for POC testing.
Felicity Dempsey, POC Coordinator at St James manages the service which incorporates at least one glucose meter on every ward and department in the hospital. In critical areas such as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) there is one glucose meter per bed. Blood gas analysers are located in the ICU, the cardiac ICU, A&E and theatre.
“To check on all the POC devices in person would require considerable time and energy,” Felicity comments, “and I’d have to cover a lot of ground since the laboratory is separate from the main hospital. For me, the cobas IT 1000 connectivity is essential, allowing me to manage and monitor the instruments remotely from my desk.”
“Workloads are growing every year,” she explains. “In addition, accreditation requirements have brought additional paperwork and documentation. Remote access and central management of the POC instruments through cobas IT 1000 allows me to better organise my workload and cuts down the amount of time I need to leave my desk, helping me to keep on top of everything.”
“The support and customer service from Roche has been second to none,” concludes Felicity. “There is a technical support line, which often enables issues to be sorted out over the phone, but if that’s not possible then I know an engineer will be sent out promptly. It’s reassuring to know that I have immediate backup if required.”
For further information about cobas IT 1000 and the full range of POC testing equipment available from Roche, please follow the company article link to the right of this page.