[Histonet] Beaker with or without Vantage

Wed Nov 29 17:35:05 CST 2017

We use Beaker across our system and like anything it has its pros and cons.  Tim is correct, it was NOT developed for Pathology, rather for physicians and the lab module was an afterthought.  Our IHC lab uses Vantage with Middleware and things go really well for them to my knowledge, but it certainly wasn’t without its challenges.

Changing any system is going to come with growing pains, for sure, but some of the things I would want “redone” include tracking, as a multiple site system we have issues with packing lists moving tests with materials to other labs and keeping the pathologists from signing cases out.  We lose our tracking from the gross station and pick it back up at embedding, using manual batch tracking sheets for what goes on the processors.  I believe something has been built to help with this and we use a wingman system, so others might not have this issue.  From a manager perspective, The report system is getting a little insane as with upgrades there seems to be unforeseen changes that impact reports you may rely on, also there are a variety of ways to develop or run reports (workbench reports, Clarity and Universe!) and the redundancy is getting confusing.  From the bench perspective, depending on the type of lab you are, accessioning is accomplished three different ways for us, client specimens that we have to register, within system specimens that are ordered in a manner that we have to go “grab” the order and the ideal way where we simply scan the label and input the task protocol (again within the system, but why can the doctors/nurses use two different ways to input the order??).  Scanning the barcodes from the cassettes can be an issue, but that is not Beakers fault, make sure you have solid cassette printers.  Lastly, the physicians view in Epic is much different than your view in Beaker, this has caused confusion when trying to find things like additional testing reports performed outside and then scanned in.  We have hammered through the majority of these issues and the Beaker team is great at helping out and thinking outside the box to smooth out workflows.  Oh, and billing!  Make sure you test all the way through patient accounting!  Stay positive, as noted, likely the choice isn’t yours to make, but how you approach it is.  Build a good relationship with your Beaker team, prioritize your needs and chip away.  It will work out.  

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 29, 2017, at 2:19 PM, Morken, Timothy via Histonet <histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu> wrote:
> 
> Ginny, when you say "slow down our whole process" is that slowness in the system or mismatch of the LIS to the pathology process?
> 
> My understanding is that this was originally designed for use in public health labs (EpicLab), which are quite different than pathology labs. Now they are trying to adapt a thirty-year old non-pathology system to pathology. Sure would be nice if someone would just use a new pathology-specific LIS built with new technology!  Why do we keep having to keep having non-pathology people shove things on us and demand we adapt to their ignorance? We went thru this with Copath for many years and had to teach them how pathology works (they should have been paying us for our knowledge, not charging us to teach them!). Now it seems it is coming around again in a new form.
> 
> 
> Tim Morken
> Pathology Site Manager, Parnassus
> Supervisor, Electron Microscopy/Neuromuscular Special Studies
> Department of Pathology
> UC San Francisco Medical Center
> 
> From: Kurth Virginia L. [mailto:VKurth at uwhealth.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017 10:16 AM
> To: Morken, Timothy; Martha Ward-Pathology
> Subject: Re: Beaker with or without Vantage
> 
> 
> Hello
> 
> We switched to beaker this year, and it definitely had growing pains.
> 
> I personally believe it was made for a doctor not a lab, and seemed to slow down our whole process,
> 
> but everyone is going to it.  It helps patient care in the aspect of everyone is on the same page with that
> 
> patient.  I think that more and more kinks will be worked out as it continues to adapt to the lab setting.  I think
> 
> asking people when they switched should be considered because it has evolved.  Good Luck!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ginny Kurth
> 
> 
> UW Hospital of Wisconsin
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Martha Ward-Pathology via Histonet <histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu<mailto:histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu>>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 12:30:57 PM
> To: Morken, Timothy
> Cc: histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu<mailto:histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Histonet] Beaker with or without Vantage
> 
> WARNING: This email appears to have originated outside of the UW Health email system.
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> 
> 
> 
> "They" aren't the ones that will have to use it.....therein lies the rub!   I have not heard many positive things about AP Beaker.
> 
> 
> 
> Martha Ward, MT (ASCP) QIHC
> Manager
> 
> Molecular Diagnostics Lab
> Medical Center Boulevard  \  Winston-Salem, NC 27157
> p 336.716.2109  \  f 336.716.5890
> mward at wakehealth.edu<mailto:mward at wakehealth.edu>
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Morken, Timothy via Histonet [mailto:histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 11:48 AM
> To: Histonet
> Subject: Re: [Histonet] Beaker with or without Vantage
> 
> I am interested as well. "They" are threatening us with a move to Beaker in the future....
> 
> 
> Tim Morken
> Pathology Site Manager, Parnassus
> Supervisor, Electron Microscopy/Neuromuscular Special Studies Department of Pathology UC San Francisco Medical Center
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blake Taylor via Histonet [mailto:histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 8:10 AM
> To: histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu<mailto:histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
> Subject: [Histonet] Beaker with or without Vantage
> 
> I'm looking for anyone out there that has switched to Beaker for AP, Also do you use Ventana Connect with Beaker?  Did you choose to use the Beaker tracking system or is anyone using Beaker in conjunction with Vantage?  Our Hospital is in the beginning phase of moving from Copath Sunquest to Beaker (2017 version) .  Any thoughts of what has gone well and what has not would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks so much
> 
> Blake Taylor
> Surgical Pathology Supervisor
> Lexington Medical Center
> 803-936-8214
> bcdukes at lexhealth.org<mailto:bcdukes at lexhealth.org>
> 
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