Press Start: Lead an Empowered Life as a Clinical Laboratorian : Technology

How Secure is Your Medical Information?

Glen McDaniel — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:08:00 GMT

Two of the most bandied-around concepts in healthcare are those of privacy and confidentiality. Even before HIPAA mandated measures to ensure that health information be safeguarded, medical professionals felt ethically bound not to disclose medical information...(read more)

Imagine Printing Inventory on Demand

Glen McDaniel — Sun, 26 May 2013 00:50:00 GMT

Technology has changed exponentially in recent years. Just consider the apps available on your smart phone today compared to what was available just 5 or ten short years ago. In fact the term disruptive technology was coined to describe any new technology...(read more)

Disruptive Technologies of 2013

Glen McDaniel — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 19:34:00 GMT

Most of us with our smart phone and tablets and wireless cable boxes do not generally think of technology as being disruptive or being a bad thing. Disruptive generally suggests annoyance or interruption like a traffic jam or electrical outage that throw...(read more)

Speed Kills

Glen McDaniel — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 03:11:00 GMT

As clinical laboratorians we are taught the importance of the information we provide for clinical decision making. Technology has made it possible to use small sample sizes to generate "numbers" in a very short period of time. Sometimes physicians (and...(read more)

Lay Off the PSA, USA Medical Panel Advises

Glen McDaniel — Tue, 22 May 2012 02:58:00 GMT

The US Preventive Services Task Force is recommending that healthy men should not be routinely screened with the PSA test. There has been a buzz that this decision was in the offing for several years now, so the final ruling is not a surprise to many....(read more)

Explaining Normal Blood Sugar Isn't Always Easy

Glen McDaniel — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:05:00 GMT

I have the dubious honor of being the medical go to person for friends and family when it comes to medical questions. Over the years I have taken the responsibility more seriously and regarded it as less of a burden. Being in healthcare administration...(read more)

Jargon Can be Annoying and Confusing

Glen McDaniel — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:25:00 GMT

Jargon has always been used and does have its place in our communication. Just imagine if a physician wrote out the full name of every test, procedure and medication for every patient very time. In medical lab science where would we be without QC, CBC,...(read more)

Lab Results on Your Smart Phone ?

Glen McDaniel — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:11:00 GMT

With the increased use of the smartphone for everything from browsing the Internet to taking pictures, it is entirely reasonable that in the very near future, it will be a common practice to receive laboratory results and other medical information from...(read more)

Keep up With ASCLS and AACC Through Social Media

Glen McDaniel — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:18:00 GMT

Most of us, and some more than others, broadcast our every move to friends and family using social networking sites like Facebook. But what's a person to when they want to keep up with their favorite professional organization-or professional colleagues?...(read more)

What's Your Take on Facebook?

Glen McDaniel — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:05:00 GMT

Time magazine has selected Facebook founder Mark Elliot Zuckerberg as its Person of the Year 2010. The magazine explained it selected the 26 year old Zuckerberg for his role in connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations...(read more)

CPOE Misses Errors

Glen McDaniel — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:05:00 GMT

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is touted as a majorimprovement in patient safety, primarily as a result of theInstitute of Medicine's 1999 report on medical errors.

As a direct result of this initiative a consortium of companies called the Leapfrog Group was formed. These companies preferentially direct their employees' healthcare to thoseinstitutions installing such systems as part of directivesLeapfrog feels will improve patient care.

In recent study, Leapfrog found CPOE are failing to catch serious drug interactions and medication errors. For example, in one test, between 10 percent and 20 percent of simulated allergy interactions were missed by nurses, physicians and pharmacists. Some hospitals failed to catch a fatal medication order in the simulation.

Spit Happens

Glen McDaniel — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:41:00 GMT

I was speaking to a lady at a party recently and she mentioned her sister had "a bunch of saliva tests" done, and one of them indicated she was at risk for Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system cells attack the saliva- and tear-producing glands, causing them to become inflamed.

Knowing my professional background, she wanted to know how the test worked and was very disappointed and dismissive when I told her I knew nothing about the test and in fact there were very few "saliva tests" run in the typical clinical lab. I also said there were several laboratories that ran unorthodox non-FDA approved tests as part of health evaluations and "wellness testing" and I would be very wary of making life decisions based on such results. I recommended her sister see a doctor and have more traditional testing done.

Later I did some research and was surprised to find that, indeed, the National Institutes of Health is in fact doing research on using disease markers in saliva to possibly diagnose Sjögren's syndrome. Who knew?

I did learn there are laboratories dedicated to testing saliva for a variety of analytes from HIV to tumor markers to drugs and others.

As someone who prides themselves on being always "up" on what's happening in healthcare in general and CLS in particular, I was a little surprised and embarrassed at my lack of knowledge. I strongly advocate that clinical laboratorians remain current and be willing to speak as authoritatively as any other member of healthcare about topical issues. But I strongly believe it is always better to say an honest "I don't know" rather than give misleading information.

Americans Use Internet for Health Information

Glen McDaniel — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:48:00 GMT

According to a recent study by the Center for Studying Health System Change, Americans are increasingly using the Internet to get health information. In 2007, almost 58 percent of the U.S. population--or more than 122 million people--sought health information from sources other than their doctor, as compared to only about 38 percent or 72 million people in 2001.

The study points out consumers use the Internet as much as books, magazines, friends, newspapers and the like combined. Even seniors are now using the Internet as a major source of health information--up to an estimated 18 percent in 2007 as compared to approximately 7 percent in 2001.

The problem, as we all know, is that many consumers give equal weight to all information on the Internet, regardless of source or authorship. It is important to provide credible information to friends and family and to steer them towards sites such as Lab Tests Online which are authored, vetted and updated by professional clinical laboratorians.

Replaced By Robots

Glen McDaniel — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:32:00 GMT

A few years ago I visited a hospital in eastern Tennessee and was fascinated by a pharmacy robot named Alexander. Alexander would take medications from the pharmacy up to the floors. Alex, holding its precious cargo in a secure ATM-like body, would, using infrared technology, take the elevator, select a floor, open the door and go deliver medication securely to an automated medication delivery system such as a Pyxis with no assistance from a human and no risk of tampering or theft.

Other pharmacies use robots in the pharmacy to dispense meds, count pills, keep inventory and otherwise automate repetitive tasks

At the recent AACC/ASCLS Lab Exposition in Washington, DC, recently, I saw a robot that could move specimens around the lab from specimen accessioning to the testing department or from one department to another. It would even request passage or announce its approach by a sensor activated mechanized voice.

A recent article in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons described a study at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore in which gastric bypass patients visited by a robot (yes a robot!) were discharged on the average of a day earlier than those who had only real-live physician visits. The robots, called RP-7, visited patients several times a day and had a video monitor, camera and microphone by which patients could communicate with their doctors. Doctors visited only once daily.

Of 92 patients visited by RP-7, 71 were discharged at least 1 day earlier than normal. The other 284 patients visited only by a doctor took at least one day longer to reach discharge status. Who cares? According to the study, these early discharges yielded the hospital more than $200, 000 in new admissions and saved more than $14, 000 in room and board.

These are all wonderful, but it reminds me how often laboratorians point to any new automation as possibly replacing laboratorians; a possible threat to job security. Others in healthcare welcome robotics and recognize them as mere tools to improve patient care, and make our lives easier, but without the capability of being substitutes for real live skilled professionals.

Virtual National Meetings

Glen McDaniel — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Last week, the annual national joint meetings of ASCLS and AACC were held in Washington, DC. The meetings were very successful, drawing thousands of attendees nationally and internationally. The meeting offered cutting edge presentations, represented the gathering of top scientific experts and the opportunity to network and socialize.

However, in the social settings, there was much discussion regarding the fact that many attendees had to pay their own way with little (if any) financial help from employers. The cost of registration, travel and accommodation represented a sacrifice for many. Others complained about missing time from work, especially if they had to use vacation or personal time as well to attend a week-long meeting.

The energy use and carbon footprint of thousands of attendees are also substantial.

Online college courses abound through the use of bulletin boards and programs like Blackboard. Several people around the country or around the world might easily collaborate on one project using virtual tools like Web 2.0. With current technology available for teleconferences and Web conferences, should we rethink how our national meetings are offered?

Might it be possible in the near future to reduce cost and increase productivity by planning shorter, fewer in person professional meetings and offering sessions using techniques like Web conferencing?