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Results for “workflow”

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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

Using technology to improve and support communication and workflow processes.

In conjunction with a large expansion project, a team of perioperative staff members reviewed their workflow processes and designed their ideal patient tracking and communication system. Technologies selected and deployed included a passive infrared tracking system, an enhanced nurse call system, wireless telephones, and a web-based electronic grease board. The new system provides staff members with an easy way to obtain critical pieces of patient information, as well as track the progress of patients and locate equipment.

Computer Communication Networks↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Workflow in nuclear medicine.

This paper discusses a workflow management system for nuclear medicine. It augments the more conventional PACS with automatic transfer of studies along the chain of activities making up an examination in nuclear medicine. A prototype system has been designed, built, and installed in a department of nuclear medicine, active in a network of hospitals.

Belgium↗

PubMed2001

Conceptual alignment of electronic health record data with guideline and workflow knowledge.

Even though computerized practice guidelines and workflow management (WfM) are proven effective techniques to improving quality of care and reducing costs, they are not widely deployed today. One reason for this is the impedance mismatch between guideline systems and electronic health record (EHR) systems. This paper presents the Unified Service Action Model (USAM) that has been developed for the HL7 Reference Information Model (RIM) and that conceptually integrates guidelines and WfM in the EHR. We argue that the information items recorded in the EHR are logically similar to elements of guideline and WfM definitions. Therefore, the USAM suggests that guidelines and EHR reuse the same information structures. This reuse is possible through a technique borrowed from natural language grammar and modal logic. The conceptual alignment of guidelines, WfM and the EHR could facilitate the sharing and deployment of guidelines in routine health care.

Cost Control↗

PubMed2006

An integrated proteomic workflow for two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis and robotic spot picking.

New technologies have advanced the field of proteomics, and a number of companies have developed innovative platforms to drive this research. However, significant challenges are often encountered when trying to integrate complementary technologies from multiple manufacturers. We have developed a software and hardware solution to integrate the Ettan two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2-D DIGE) system (GE Healthcare) with the Investigator ProPic spot picking robot (Genomic Solutions). We have analyzed protein sample preparations from bacterial and mammalian sources to demonstrate a new workflow with increased throughput for gel-based proteomics.

Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional↗

PubMed2003

The impact of medical technology on office workflow.

Digital technologies are gaining wider acceptance within the medical and dental professions. The lure of increased productivity and improved quality entice practices to adapt. These systems are beginning to have a profound impact on the workflows within the practice, as well as putting new demands on existing resources. To successfully implement a new technology within your practice, you must look beyond advertising and discover the real requirements of the system. Vendors rarely try to help beyond the sale and installation of their equipment, nor do they consider how their product might require you to modify the way you and your staff work. Acquiring the necessary knowledge through self-education, a consultant, or (preferably) a combination of the two is the best way to integrate a new technology with your practice.

Computer Systems↗

PubMed2003

Optimised workflow and organisation - from the point of view of an anaesthesiology department.

The operating theatre is one of the most expensive facilities in most hospitals. In order to meet the increasing demands of a professional and process-oriented management, it will be necessary to introduce clear and unambiguous management concepts in all hospitals. To optimise the workflow and the organisation as part of a future-oriented OR management, operating room resources were allocated to the surgeons according to an internal assessment and budgeting procedure that permitted an objective evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of each user.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Emergency healthcare process automation using workflow technology and web services.

Emergency healthcare delivery involves a variety of interrelated activities performed from the time of a call to the ambulance service until the time of patient's exit from the emergency department of a hospital. As these activities can be viewed as parts of inter-organizational healthcare processes that involve at least two organizations (e.g. an ambulance service and a hospital), there is a need to provide the appropriate technological infrastructure for automating and managing these processes even in cases where the organizations involved use heterogeneous systems to support their internal services. Web-based workflow systems in conjunction with web services present a new way for service-oriented integration (SOI) of disparate systems and for developing distributed applications within and between organizations. Thus, process automation with the use of web services can provide an appropriate infrastructure for the integration of pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency healthcare. A prototype development of such a system is presented in this paper.

Ambulances↗

PubMed2005

An optimized workflow for the integration of biological information into radiotherapy planning: experiences with T1w DCE-MRI.

Planning of radiotherapy is often difficult due to restrictions on morphological images. New imaging techniques enable the integration of biological information into treatment planning and help to improve the detection of vital and aggressive tumour areas. This might improve clinical outcome. However, nowadays morphological data sets are still the gold standard in the planning of radiotherapy. In this paper, we introduce an in-house software platform enabling us to combine images from different imaging modalities yielding biological and morphological information in a workflow driven approach. This is demonstrated for the combination of morphological CT, MRI, functional DCE-MRI and PET data. Data of patients with a tumour of the prostate and with a meningioma were examined with DCE-MRI by applying pharmacokinetic two-compartment models for post-processing. The results were compared with the clinical plans for radiation therapy. Generated parameter maps give additional information about tumour spread, which can be incorporated in the definition of safety margins.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical dashboards: impact on workflow, care quality, and patient safety.

There is a vast array of technical data that is continuously generated within the intensive care unit environment. In addition to physiological monitors, there is information being captured by the ventilator, intravenous infusion pumps, medication dispensing units, and even the patient's bed. The ability to retrieve and synchronize data is essential for both clinical documentation and real-time problem solving for individual patients and the intensive care unit population as a whole. Technical advances that permit the integration of all relevant data into a singular display or "dashboard" may improve staff efficiency, accelerate decisions, streamline workflow processes, and reduce oversights and errors in clinical practice. Critical care nurses must coordinate all aspects of care for one or more patients. Clinical data are constantly being retrieved, documented, analyzed, and communicated to others, all within the daily routine of nursing care. In addition, many bedside monitors and devices have alarms systems that must be evaluated throughout the workday, and actions taken on the basis of the patient's condition and other data. It is obvious that the complexity within such care processes presents many potential opportunities for overlooking important details. The capability to systematically and logically link physiological monitors and other selected data sets into a cohesive dashboard system holds tremendous promise for improving care quality, patient safety, and clinical outcomes in the intensive care unit.

Computer Terminals↗

PubMed2005

Specificity of computerized physician order entry has a significant effect on the efficiency of workflow for critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients require rapid care, yet they are also at risk for morbidity from the potential complications of that care. Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is advocated as a tool to reduce medical errors, improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery, and improve outcomes. Little is known regarding the essential attributes of CPOE in the intensive care unit (ICU). OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of CPOE on ICU patient care. DESIGN: Retrospective before and after cohort study. SETTING: An academic ICU. PATIENTS: Patients admitted to the ICU during use of the initial CPOE application and those admitted after its modification. INTERVENTIONS: Comprehensive order interface redesign improving clarity, specificity, and efficiency. MEASUREMENTS: Orders for complex ICU care were compared between the two groups. In addition, the use of higher-efficiency CPOE order paths was tracked. RESULTS: Patients treated with both the initial and modified CPOE system were similar for all measured characteristics. With the modified CPOE system, there were significant reductions in orders for vasoactive infusions, sedative infusions, and ventilator management. There was also a significant increase in orders executed through ICU-specific order sets after system modifications. LIMITATIONS: This retrospective study cannot assess issues related to learner expertise and is meant to only suggest the importance of developing CPOE systems that are appropriate for specialty care environments. CONCLUSION: Appropriate CPOE applications can improve the efficiency of care for critically ill patients. The workflow requirements of individual units must be analyzed before technologies like CPOE can be properly developed and implemented.

Computer Graphics↗

PubMed2005

SGXPro: a parallel workflow engine enabling optimization of program performance and automation of structure determination.

SGXPro consists of four components. (i) A parallel workflow engine that was designed to automatically manage communication between the different processes and build systematic searches of algorithm/program/parameter space to generate the best possible result for a given data set. This is performed by offering the user a palette of programs and techniques commonly used in X-ray structure determination in an environment that lets the user choose programs in a mix-and-match manner, without worrying about inter-program communication and file formats, during the structure-determination process. The current SGXPro program palette includes 3DSCALE, SHELXD, ISAS, SOLVE/RESOLVE, DM, SOLOMON, DMMULTI, BLAST, AMoRe, EPMR, XTALVIEW, ARP/wARP and MAID. (ii) A client/server architecture that allows the user to utilize the best computing facility available. (iii) Plug-in-and-play design, which allows easily integration of new programs into the system. (iv) User-friendly interface.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗

PubMed1998

A workflow-based approach to virtual patient record security.

Virtual patient records provide a means for integrated access to patient information that may be scattered around different healthcare organizations (or hospital departments). As Intranets provide, among others, secure access to medical information, they constitute an appropriate technological infrastructure for a virtual patient record implementation. In such cases, a security policy can be enforced by combining the security features of the Intranet with the security features of the intraorganizational systems. However, when a workflow system is implemented to automate interorganizational healthcare processes, an additional security layer is needed. An authorization architecture that serves this purpose is presented in this paper.

Computer Communication Networks↗

PubMed2002

Qualitative detection of hepatitis C virus RNA: comparison of analytical sensitivity, clinical performance, and workflow of the Cobas Amplicor HCV test version 2.0 and the HCV RNA transcription-mediated amplification qualitative assay.

The qualitative Cobas Amplicor hepatitis C virus (HCV) version 2.0 assay (HCV PCR) and the Bayer Reference Testing Laboratory HCV RNA transcription-mediated amplification assay (HCV TMA) were compared for analytical sensitivity, clinical performance, and workflow. Limits of detection were determined by testing dilutions of the World Health Organization HCV standard in replicates of 15 at concentrations of from 1.0 to 70 IU/ml. The limit of detection of the HCV PCR assay was calculated to be 45 IU/ml on initial testing and 32 IU/ml after resolution of gray zone results. The calculated limit of detection for HCV TMA was 6 IU/ml. To compare clinical performance, 300 specimens, grouped as follows, were evaluated: 112 samples that were indeterminate in an anti-HCV enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and for which HCV RNA was not detected by HCV PCR; 79 samples that were EIA positive and for which HCV RNA was not detected by HCV PCR; and 105 samples that were both EIA and HCV PCR positive. For these groups, interassay concordance ranged from 96.2% to 100%. In addition, three HCV PCR gray zone specimens and one neonatal specimen were also evaluated. A 64-sample run (full run, 91 specimens) required 5 h for testing by HCV TMA, whereas almost 8 h were required to test a full run of 22 specimens by HCV PCR. HCV TMA demonstrated excellent concordance with HCV PCR when clinical samples were tested. However, HCV TMA was more sensitive than HCV PCR, required less time for test result completion, and had a greater throughput.

Hepacivirus↗

PubMed2005

Analysis of the comparative workflow and performance characteristics of the VITEK 2 and Phoenix systems.

The VITEK 2 (bioMérieux, Marcy L'Etoile, France) and the Phoenix systems (BD Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, Md.) are automated instruments for rapid organism identification and susceptibility testing. We evaluated the workflow, the time to result, and the performance of identification and susceptibility testing of both instruments. A total of 307 fresh clinical isolates were tested: 141 Enterobacteriaceae, 22 nonfermenters, 93 Staphylococcus spp., and 51 Enterococcus spp. Manipulation time was measured in batches, each with seven isolates, for a total of 39 batches. The mean (+/- standard deviation [SD]) manipulation time per batch was 20.9 +/- 1.8 min for Phoenix and 10.6 +/- 1.0 min for VITEK 2 (P < 0.001). Mean (+/-SD) time to result for all bacterial groups was 727 +/- 162 min for Phoenix and 506 +/- 120 min for VITEK 2 (P < 0.001). Concerning identification, Phoenix and VITEK 2 yielded the same results for nonfermenters (100%), staphylococci (97%), and enterococci (100%). For 140 Enterobacteriaceae strains evaluated, 135 (96%) were correctly identified by Phoenix and 137 (98%) by VITEK 2 (P = 0.72). The overall category agreement for all isolates was 97.0% for both instruments. The minor error rate, major error rate, and very major error rate for all bacterial isolates tested were 3.0, 0.3, and 0.6 and 2.8, 0.2, and 1.7 for Phoenix and VITEK 2, respectively (P values of 0.76, 0.75, and 0.09). The VITEK 2 system required less manual manipulation time and less time than the Phoenix system to yield results.

Automation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Integration and beyond: linking information from disparate sources and into workflow.

The vision of integrating information-from a variety of sources, into the way people work, to improve decisions and process-is one of the cornerstones of biomedical informatics. Thoughts on how this vision might be realized have evolved as improvements in information and communication technologies, together with discoveries in biomedical informatics, and have changed the art of the possible. This review identified three distinct generations of "integration" projects. First-generation projects create a database and use it for multiple purposes. Second-generation projects integrate by bringing information from various sources together through enterprise information architecture. Third-generation projects inter-relate disparate but accessible information sources to provide the appearance of integration. The review suggests that the ideas developed in the earlier generations have not been supplanted by ideas from subsequent generations. Instead, the ideas represent a continuum of progress along the three dimensions of workflow, structure, and extraction.

Computer Communication Networks↗

PubMed2006

Impact of workflow-integrated corollary orders on aminoglycoside monitoring in children.

Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and clinical decision support improve medication prescribing safety in adults. However, effective therapy for children requires dosing based on circulating medication levels. We examined the introduction of a computerized corollary order for aminoglycoside blood level monitoring. The study was divided into baseline (BP) and corollary order (CP) periods. In the CP, we implemented a workflow-integrated reminder to order blood levels and presented this to the clinician during each aminoglycoside ordering session. Appropriate laboratory monitoring was 128/159 (80.5%) courses in the BP and 146/177 (82.5%) courses in the CP. Thus introduction of the order did not significantly improve laboratory monitoring rates, nor did it result in a reduction in the rate of either toxic or subtherapeutic levels. However, aminoglycoside corollary orders may have an important role in institutions where pharmacists are not actively involved in monitoring therapy.

Aminoglycosides↗

PubMed2006

Development of an open source laboratory information management system for 2-D gel electrophoresis-based proteomics workflow.

BACKGROUND: In the post-genome era, most research scientists working in the field of proteomics are confronted with difficulties in management of large volumes of data, which they are required to keep in formats suitable for subsequent data mining. Therefore, a well-developed open source laboratory information management system (LIMS) should be available for their proteomics research studies. RESULTS: We developed an open source LIMS appropriately customized for 2-D gel electrophoresis-based proteomics workflow. The main features of its design are compactness, flexibility and connectivity to public databases. It supports the handling of data imported from mass spectrometry software and 2-D gel image analysis software. The LIMS is equipped with the same input interface for 2-D gel information as a clickable map on public 2DPAGE databases. The LIMS allows researchers to follow their own experimental procedures by reviewing the illustrations of 2-D gel maps and well layouts on the digestion plates and MS sample plates. CONCLUSION: Our new open source LIMS is now available as a basic model for proteome informatics, and is accessible for further improvement. We hope that many research scientists working in the field of proteomics will evaluate our LIMS and suggest ways in which it can be improved.

Computational Biology↗

PubMed2006

JUICE: a data management system that facilitates the analysis of large volumes of information in an EST project workflow.

BACKGROUND: Expressed sequence tag (EST) analyses provide a rapid and economical means to identify candidate genes that may be involved in a particular biological process. These ESTs are useful in many Functional Genomics studies. However, the large quantity and complexity of the data generated during an EST sequencing project can make the analysis of this information a daunting task. RESULTS: In an attempt to make this task friendlier, we have developed JUICE, an open source data management system (Apache + PHP + MySQL on Linux), which enables the user to easily upload, organize, visualize and search the different types of data generated in an EST project pipeline. In contrast to other systems, the JUICE data management system allows a branched pipeline to be established, modified and expanded, during the course of an EST project. The web interfaces and tools in JUICE enable the users to visualize the information in a graphical, user-friendly manner. The user may browse or search for sequences and/or sequence information within all the branches of the pipeline. The user can search using terms associated with the sequence name, annotation or other characteristics stored in JUICE and associated with sequences or sequence groups. Groups of sequences can be created by the user, stored in a clipboard and/or downloaded for further analyses. Different user profiles restrict the access of each user depending upon their role in the project. The user may have access exclusively to visualize sequence information, access to annotate sequences and sequence information, or administrative access. CONCLUSION: JUICE is an open source data management system that has been developed to aid users in organizing and analyzing the large amount of data generated in an EST Project workflow. JUICE has been used in one of the first functional genomics projects in Chile, entitled "Functional Genomics in nectarines: Platform to potentiate the competitiveness of Chile in fruit exportation". However, due to its ability to organize and visualize data from external pipelines, JUICE is a flexible data management system that should be useful for other EST/Genome projects. The JUICE data management system is released under the Open Source GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). JUICE may be downloaded from http://genoma.unab.cl/juice_system/ or http://www.genomavegetal.cl/juice_system/.

Chromatography↗