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Biomedical subjects

R D Aller

Publications and source records attributed to R D Aller.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Impact of Système International conversion on laboratory information systems.

As laboratories in the United States convert to reporting test results in Système International (SI) units, certain requirements will be placed on laboratory computers. Old and new results must be related to different reference ranges. Interpretive reporting and reflexive testing algorithms must be updated to the new units. Reporting in minimum increments is worthwhile, regardless of the SI conversion timetable. On the other hand, dual reporting is not advisable, as it would clutter reports and increase the cost and complexity of SI conversion, without yielding benefits. Results should be converted to SI units at the instrument, not by the computer. The Greek mu (mu) may be represented as u. Conversion graphs can be printed on the unused reverse side of report forms. The most important factors in the success of conversion to SI reporting will be thorough education of those reading the reports, and coordination of the conversion process within each locality.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗
PubMed1985

Identifying costs of medical care. An essential step in allocating resources.

Financial constraints are imposing an urgent requirement on American medicine to control the increasing costs of medical care. Valid data on "true" costs are required to make optimum trade-offs between quality-availability and cost of medical services; unfortunately, these data are generally lacking. Standard accounting procedures provide information on expenditures for items such as utilities, pharmaceuticals, and payroll; however, these procedures cannot identify personnel costs related to a specific medical service. The Laboratory Workload Recording Method developed by the College of American Pathologists offers a proved method for calculating personnel costs in performing each type of procedure in the clinical laboratory as well as projected costs of alternative management actions. Similar principles could be applied in other areas of health care.

Canada↗
PubMed1985

Surviving prospective reimbursement: how computers can help contain lab costs.

Fixed rates per case spell tighter budgets and a greater need for appropriate test use. Lab computers are your lifeblood, the author says, as they will help increase revenues from outpatient testing, reduce costs, and provide information on test use. This article is published in the proceedings of the January 1984 Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences.

Clinical Laboratory Techniques↗
PubMed1985

Maintaining the quality of laboratory services in a cost-containment environment.

Cutting costs while maintaining quality requires a very complete understanding of laboratory medicine and laboratory management. The pathologist must take the lead in maximizing the usefulness of laboratory information, while minimizing costs of labor, reagents, send-outs, equipment, maintenance, space, and overhead. Consideration is given to evaluation of alternative laboratory arrangements, streamlining of quality control, and monitoring and optimizing laboratory utilization, in cooperation with the clinician.

Cost Control↗
PubMed1977

Computer-assisted pathology encoding and reporting system (CAPER).

An on-line computer-assisted pathology encoding and reportying system (CAPER) has been developed by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory of Computer Science of the Massachusetts General Hospital for a department of surgical pathology that processes more than 25,000 specimens yearly. CAPER performs clerical functions, including the accessioning of specimens, monitoring their state of completion, production of log books, billing, statistics, and transfer of diagnoses to other hospital departments. It also permits instantaneous display of all diagnoses rendered within two years, printout within 24 hours of all older diagnoses for any patient, and retrieval of all specimens with any given diagnosis, further defined by any data item (e.g., age) stored in the computer file.

Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The laboratory information system as a medical device: inspection and accreditation issues.

Laboratory information systems (LISs) allow laboratories to produce more reliable results than can be provided with manual systems--as long as attention has been given to system testing, monitoring, maintenance, and repair of the LIS. Regulatory and voluntary accrediting agencies have recently begun reminding us of what we should have been doing all along--ensuring that our computerized systems are operating properly. Initial regulatory efforts caused some misunderstandings and confusion, but a more balanced approach is now being taken. The safety and reliability of software can be improved, at reasonable cost, by paying attention to standards for requirements definition, initial testing, monitoring, change control, and overall documentation. We must continue using and improving our automated systems, rather than abandoning automation in favor of error-prone manual systems.

Accreditation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Computerized reporting and follow-up of gynecologic cytology.

A system utilizing inexpensive computer hardware to produce high-quality cytology report and to provide an extensive, semi-automated follow-up system is described. Key features of the reports generated are emphasized. The system uses the Bethesda System nomenclature for reporting cytologic findings to a wide range of physicians, from general practitioners to gynecologists to subspecialists in gynecologic oncology.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cytology requisition log-in with a minimum of keyboard entry.

Virtually every cytology laboratory invests considerable staff time in the entry or log-in of specimens into a laboratory information system. In many cases these systems are not optimized for rapid entry of the data. We describe a combination of two techniques (fastkey/macros and bar code) that has enabled us to reduce the number of keystrokes required for cytologic smear accessioning and to improve the overall efficiency of the requisition entry process by 25%. Similar techniques could be used with a wide variety of information systems.

Cytological Techniques↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cytology result entry without using the keyboard.

Many keystrokes are needed to enter routine gynecologic cytology results into many computer systems. Not only is this quite time consuming, but typing errors cannot be avoided and are not always detected before the report is sent to the clinician. Because of continuing shortages of staff time and the desire to avoid transcription errors, we began using $400 bar code wands to enter cytology results and billing information. No changes in our laboratory information system software or tables were necessary. Accession number labels are preprinted on a stand-alone printer. Bar code sheets, containing common keystroke sequences, are printed using a standard Macintosh computer and Laserwriter printer. Scanning the bar codes exactly emulates those keystrokes typed on the keyboard. We have entered the results of > 99% of our gynecologic cytology cases in the past two years without touching the keyboard.

Cytological Techniques↗