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Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare Reports Impressive Return on Investment from SCC Soft Computer's LIS Software
May 4, 2004
ELMURST, IL- Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare reports a strong overall ROI three years after installation of SCC Soft Computer’s Laboratory software. Officials at Elmhurst attribute substantial cost saving to the new system, and eventually resolving the facilities’ med tech vacancy dilemma. They report that Elmhurst no longer faces a shortage, and estimate consolidating substantial full-time vacancies. The healthcare corporation has contracted for additional new software modules and upgrades from the clinical software developer.
It was a different world at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital and sister facilities in early 1999. The laboratory operations for the 427 bed, 11 location healthcare system nearly 20 miles west of Chicago were operating in a more primitive fashion. Processing specimens in the lab was much more laborious, time consuming, and far less profitable. Techs were spending hours pouring off aliquots, peeling labels, and manually sorting tubes in racks. Officials observe there has been a marked improvement in operations since the implementation of the Beckman Coulter Robotics instrumentation, interfaced with SCC Soft Computer’s robust clinical information systems. Elmhurst was no different than many facilities are still today—operating without an optimized, LIS system.
Sam Terese, the Administrative Lab Director, is very pleased with the significant increase in productivity Elmhurst experienced after implementing SCC’s LIS Suite, and going live in 2000. The healthcare system purchased SCC’s SoftLab (laboratory), SoftPath® (anatomic pathology), SoftMic® (microbiology), SoftBank® II (blood bank), and SoftA/R® (accounts receivable) software modules. Mr. Terese recalls Elmhurst’s previous LIS system that crashed on a nearly daily basis and lacked support when Elmhurst needed it most. “Our techs love our new Soft Computer system,” states Terese. “And what a transition in Microbiology. SCC has created a thing of beauty!” Terese is delighted with his laboratories’ new staff efficiencies, and sites how this has improved by nearly 18%. “We’re talking about a cost savings of approximately $3 million! We know, we did a comparison,” says Terese. “The software and robotics are now working together very efficiently. When your LIS and robotic instruments work in unison, you can really accomplish a lot.” He is also an advocate of SCC’s software specimen tracking ability. “When a client calls to inquire about where his test is, we can actually find the tube right away no matter where it is in the laboratory.”
Terese looks to SCC to help solidify Elmhurst’s vision of the future. Upgrades for existing modules and the addition of SCC’s new generation technology products are well in the works, and Terese is looking forward to the forthcoming implementations. The healthcare system has chosen to add SoftCompliance,™ a medical necessity checking software solution, and SoftWeb,™ an integrated web-based clinical repository for physician order entry and results delivery. Terese believes SoftWeb will be an important component in helping Elmhurst reach the goal of expanding outreach services. “We’ve had outreach for 20 years, but the last five we’ve seen real growth. SoftWeb will help us connect with our clients.” Terese also notes how competitive outreach services have become. “We have national laboratory providers, and a number of local and regional providers to compete with; we anticipate that SoftWeb will give us an advantage.”
Officials at Elmhurst note the ongoing, superior service they’ve received from SCC Soft Computer. Terese comments, “We know who the CEO of SCC is, and he knows us. I could pick up the phone and talk to him at any time. That’s a phenomenon—there’s not another LIS company who has that.”
SCC Soft Computer is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. From its humble beginnings in 1979, SCC Soft Computer has been meeting the needs of the Healthcare Industry by providing powerful, best-of-breed clinical information solutions to hospitals and laboratories. SCC's fully integrated suite of clinical information management products includes SoftLab (laboratory), SoftRad® (radiology), SoftRx® (inpatient and outpatient pharmacy), SoftPath (anatomic pathology), SoftMic (microbiology), SoftA/R (accounts receivable), SoftWeb Outreach Suite (Web-based module suite for outreach program application), SoftBankII (blood transfusion management), and the new SoftDonor® (blood donor software), which recently received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more information, contact Ellie Vahman at (727) 789-0100 x4052.
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