Code Blood Tests Bars and Blind Spots Sample 360 App User guide

Brand: Code

Model: Blood Tests Bars and Blind Spots Sample 360 App

Type: User guide

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Check your blind spot!

It’s “Driving 101” for merging and changing lanes. Yet overlooking blind spots causes

800,000 accidents annually in the US alone (per the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration). The problem is pervasive enough that blind-spot monitoring systems

are increasingly common in

new passenger vehicles sold

in America.

Drivers aren’t the only ones

overlooking blind spots—

improperly labeled and

tracked blood tests lead to

incorrect diagnosis and

angst. However, clinicians

and hospitals now have a

blind spot monitoring

system, too: MSoft

eSolutions’ Sample360.

Available as software or a

standalone smartphone app, Sample360 is a powerful sample tracking and

management solution. Utilizing Code’s CortexDecoder barcode scanning software

development kit (SDK), Sample360 improves safety and efficiency by tracking samples

from collection to lab analysis.

Blood Tests, Barcodes & Blind Spots: Sample360 App Cuts Costly

Errors by Phlebotomy Samples with Code’s CortexDecoder SDK

Figure 1: MSoft eSolutions’ Sample360 app tracks medical samples from the

testing site (homes or hospitals) to lab via barcode to eliminate costly errors

resulting from incorrectly labeled samples.

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Sample-taking isn’t Always Simple

Sampling has long relied on manual data collection. For routine blood tests, a sheet of

labels is printed and collected by a busy nurse, who then locates the patient. After a

quick visual check, the labels are peeled off and attached (hopefully) to the right tubes.

Like most manual processes, it was cost-effective—until it wasn’t.

Many errors, MSoft discovered, related to positive patient identification and incorrect

labeling—rushed caregivers just glanced at patient materials. Secondly, sample

requests could change from initial label printing (up to two days prior) until collection.

The papers were indeed a blind spot—nurses weren’t notified of deviations, such as

additional sample requests.

“In those instances are varying error rates,” explains Matt McAlister, MSoft’s managing

director. “Look at a typical hospital collecting a million samples annually through

Sample360; before integration, they averaged a 6% error rate. Looking at a million,

60,000 incorrect samples—with the wrong name or person—were rejected. When

hospitals switched to Sample360, errors dropped to 0.

“A rejected sample costs approximately £14.00. Multiplied by 60,000, that's how much

rejections cost because the samples weren’t done properly,” he says.

MSoft calculates that Sample360 saves the average health trust £560,000 annually.

Bullish about New Markets

There’s little wonder why Sample360 has conquered the UK. First, it is an independent

provider, making it quite unique. Secondly, the cloud-based app is mobile for use in all

sorts of settings, from hospitals to patients’ homes.

“We are truly independent of lab and hospital systems because we run a standards-

based communication protocol using HL7 (for standardized medical data transfer),”

McAlister explains. “We offer much more than big lab systems. In a mini-tender with UK

clinicians, we scored 95%; they scored 40% because they were missing parts like off-

site surgeries.”

Sample360’s performance has opened new markets, like the United Arab Emirates, and

created opportunities, such as animal husbandry.

“There are spinoffs—we could end up in the veterinary world because we know there

are high-value assets worth tracking. For example, we had a party wanting to track bull

semen because it’s worth an absolute fortune and is transported globally.”

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Given its global application scope, Sample360 is

scalable and compatible with devices like mobile

label printers. The app is compatible with iOS,

Android, and their common handhelds, such as

iPhones in hospitals and ruggedized Samsung

devices in industry.

Poised for a Pandemic?

At the onset of the 2020 pandemic, Sample360

leaped from operating theaters to the frontlines.

“Our prime interest is surgical needs, collecting

and sending samples to a central hub. We’re also

instrumental in large hospital networks that have

samples moving between facilities,” McAlister

notes. “But we've also been involved with massive

COVID-related projects as needs evolved from

antigen to antibody testing.”

With testing key to curtailing COVID, the UK’s

government sought data to gauge progress. This

need created an opening for Sample360 because

it provides a central data hub with an integrated

business intelligence tool—a quantum leap over

previous systems.

“When the UK government was conducting

COVID tests, there was a huge outcry because

they were storing data in an old version of

Microsoft Excel, which was limited to about 64,000

records,” McAlister recalls. “They discovered they

were missing records and had incorrect sums,

forcing a mass-upgrade to Excel’s latest version.

This is when you realize that the systems behind

the scenes of these big organizations are

antiquated.”

Behind Sample360’s Success?

Barcodes. Sample360 allows a nurse to print labels (with barcodes) and tag samples

during collection anywhere, like bedside. The sample is rescanned with the patient’s ID

wristband for positive patient identification; the sample is then scanned throughout

transit to verify appropriate handling and timely transit. Once at the lab, another scan

closes the loop.

Sample360 is seamless; however, its development wasn’t as smooth.

Figure 2: Sample360 overview

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MSoft initially used barcode scanning jackets that were increasingly outdated and

expensive; Sample360’s developers then migrated to a conglomerate’s barcode image

processing library. However, it didn’t offer the barcode scanning quality needed in

frenetic healthcare settings.

“We contacted another organization and had a conversation, but they did not

understand our needs. Then I found Code and began the conversation—we liked

Code’s flexible approach.

We chose Code and are happy with our experience. Among the things we're pleased

with are barcode scanning speed and quality. It’s significantly faster than the scanning

jackets,” McAlister shares.

Sample360's rapid scanning on the front end and rapid integration on the back end are

tremendous advantages—especially for large hospital networks. In Southampton,

England, MSoft implemented Sample360 in a network of 30+ hospitals in less than a

month, no small feat considering this was during COVID-19’s onset.

Off to the Races!

Vanguard athletes (both equine and human) can undergo anti-doping blood and urine

tests virtually anytime, anywhere. Since titles, purses, and pride ride on results, athletics

are prime for Sample360 because every link in the custody chain is verified via barcode.

Similarly, law enforcement and prisons can collect samples for drug and alcohol tests as

warranted.

“The use can be anything

where a sample is taken

from a body—human or

animal—then that specimen

is transported for analysis.

Sample360 is the product to

do that,” McAlister

concludes.

Ready to upgrade your

operation’s sample tracking

and handling with a 360°

view? Contact MSoft to learn

more about Sample360

integration.

Will better barcode scanning boost the bottom line? Contact Code; let’s find the right

barcode reader or software for your product or project.

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Figure 3: Sample360’s flexibility holds tremendous promise for animal

husbandry and testing for performance-enhancing drugs.

Code Blood Tests Bars and Blind Spots Sample 360 App User guide