12 September, 2022
An innovative new system guides staff during sample collection
To minimize possible errors in taking samples from patients and also guaranteeing their traceability, the Hospital Clínic Group has begun to use an innovative system: Protube. This system helps the nursing staff throughout the process of obtaining samples, from the unequivocal identification of the patient by reading a bar code to the selection of containers and the order of filling, in addition to allowing the traceability of samples in real-time.
“The implementation of this system represents another stage in the continuous innovation process that we carry out at the Extraction Centre. On this occasion, the introduction of the ProTube system also makes it possible to improve the internal work circuits of the laboratory, since the response time is reduced, also achieving better control of the sample. All this results in a clear improvement in patient care, safety and better overall analytical quality”, concludes Dr Josep Lluís Bedini, head of the CORE Operational Area of the Extraction Centre – Biomedical Diagnostic Centre (CDB) of the Hospital Clínic.
“The introduction of the ProTube system also allows the internal work circuits of the laboratory to be improved, since the response time is reduced, also achieving better control of the sample. All this results in a clear improvement in patient care”
Dr Josep Lluís Bedini, head of the CORE Operational Area of the Extraction Centre – Biomedical Diagnostic Centre
FROM THE DOOR TO THE LABORATORY
The process of the new system begins as soon as the patient arrives at the Extraction Centre on the day and time of their appointment. The first step consists of identifying her in one of the shift dispensers using the appointment of the extraction, the health card or the DNI. The dispenser gives you a turn that contains the order number and the barcode of the request that will be read later in the extraction box by the system. From this moment she will remain in the knowledge of the laboratory waiting to receive the samples.
The date of registration in the dispenser, the patient’s waiting time, the nurse who has treated him and performed the extraction, the containers used, the circuit that the samples have been made or how long the process has taken, are examples of some of the data that the device can collect. “From the Extraction Box, we carry out the self-management of the patients who are in the waiting room. The system assists us in all the steps and tells us the number of tubes needed or if the sample requires any special conditions, such as protecting it from light”, explains Eva Albesa, assistant coordinator of the Extraction Centre – Biomedical Diagnostic Centre (CBD) of the Clínic.
A PROGRESSIVE IMPLEMENTATION
The Extraction Centre attends an average of 950 patients daily where blood extractions and sample collections of any complexity are carried out. “This means that automated and traceable systems are required to shield the security of the entire process from the reception of the patient to the arrival of the samples at the laboratory”, explains Dolores Jaén, head of nursing management at the Biomedical Diagnostic Centre (CDB) of the Clínic.
Since January 2020 and after two years of adaptation projects to the CDB and Hospital Laboratory systems, the Extraction Centre has this system in each box. The implementation in the hospital wards has required the design of an adapted transport cart, which allows the system to be brought closer to the patient’s bedside, guaranteeing safety throughout the process.
In addition to the Hospital Extraction Centre, this system has also been installed in various hospitalisation wards, where implementation will continue progressively until the goal of establishing it in all units and locations by 2022 is achieved.