 When a natural disaster occurs, such as September’s Hurricane Dorian that devastated the Bahamas and proceeded to do more damage all the way up the eastern coastline, it highlights the importance of emergency and disaster preparedness to mitigate the impact of a disaster and restore disrupted laboratory operations as quickly as possible.
 Point-of-care testing (POCT) brings its own set of challenges in regard to regulatory compliance. Those laboratories that are inspected and certified by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) are likely quite familiar with the CAP checklists for different laboratory areas and departments. For a great refresher and summary of CAP inspection priorities for POCT, review the Whitehat Communications webinar, CAP is Coming – What do I do now? given by Kathleen David, MT(ASCP), POCT Manager at TriCore Reference Laboratories.
 Installing a new LIS is an exciting yet stressful, undertaking. Every step of your laboratory’s workflow is impacted. It is wise to carefully think through all the implementation steps and make sure you are properly prepared before a new LIS installation. Whether replacing your LIS or getting one for the first time, there will be a period of disruption in your laboratory. Proper planning and preparation can lessen the stress associated with change.
 For the eighth year in a row and ninth time overall since 2009, Orchard Software was named to the Indianapolis Star’s Top Workplaces list for 2019. We are proud to announce we are ranked 18th for the mid-size company category as a top place to work, joining the ranks of very prestigious companies around the Indianapolis area.
 Don’t miss Orchard’s 2019 User Group & Symposium. To register for the event, held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 18 and 19.
The User Group & Symposium is designed for current and prospective users, providing an opportunity to gain more in-depth information about the healthcare industry as it relates to the laboratory, Orchard Software, and Orchard’s various lab information system products. You also get a chance to meet with Orchard employees and network with other Orchard Software users.  Having a highly effective LIS is a must in today’s laboratory. An LIS can boost laboratory productivity and efficiency and help free laboratorians for other hands-on tasks. Therefore, selecting the best-fit LIS for your lab is extremely important. Because every laboratory is unique, you must select an LIS that meets the specific requirements of your testing menu and your patient population.  If you are planning to purchase a new LIS, or make any other major purchase for your laboratory, you may need support from someone at your organization’s administrative level. It is important to actively work to build a rapport with your administrative team and to understand the mission and vision of your organization so that you can align departmental decisions with organizational goals. Having the trust and support of the right people can make the decision process easier.
 While there is widespread dissatisfaction among EHR users, it is less common to hear the same animosity toward an LIS. LISs are more mature, and the laboratory has been working with them for decades now. However, this does not mean you have to be stuck with an old, frustrating system that no longer meets your needs. If you are wondering if your current LIS will meet your future needs, here are five signs that may signal the need to look into replacing your LIS.
At Orchard, we are proud of the fact that we continually strive to align our offerings with changes in the healthcare industry, and we listen to our client base to constantly improve our products. Knowing that point-of-care testing (POCT) is growing and that it offers serious challenges in oversight and connectivity, we developed Trellis to support POCT. It is another example of Orchard providing exciting new products built on the most up-to-date technologies.
 Anyone involved in the oversight of a POCT program knows firsthand that it is not an easy endeavor to track and manage POCT across locations, devices, and operators. Within a healthcare organization, testing may take place in dozens of locations, with different tests and devices in each location, and hundreds to thousands of end operators who all require training and assessments. Using statistics from the Whitehat Communications webinar series, we've put together an infographic that highlights challenges those managing POCT experience. Meeting regulatory requirements and performing competency assessments top the list of concerns for POCT coordinators. Additionally, POCT regulatory requirements are the most difficult tasks for POC coordinators.
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