Modernising Laboratory Services - The Need For It And Hardware Integration

The Wirral Hospital NHS Trust (WHT) in the northwest of the UK is a busy district general hospital that has one of the country?s most advanced IT hospital environments. Pathology is a prime example where the increasing demand for diagnostic testing within current resources has led to the co-development with Olympus of the dataWizard Instrument Management software system. Last year the laboratories at Wirral Hospital processed 1,873,356 laboratory tests This article looks at the experience of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at Wirral Hospital as they have sought to modernise laboratory equipment and integrate the new software system. The initial objectives were not only to improve pathology management and quality assurance, but also importantly to ensure a seamless fit into the overall e-health environment of the Trust.