Q2 2016 Outlook

Clearwater, Florida (May 11, 2016)—Gilbert Hakim, SCC’s CEO, is pleased to provide this quarterly update.

It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces—and a record number of first-time attendees—at SNUG’s 24^th annual healthcare information technology summit (SNUG 2016) the week of April 17.  For a conference recap, please see SNUG Update in SCC’s Q2 2016 Announcements.

I’m writing this at the onset of Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (Lab Week 2016) and am reminded of the dedicated medical laboratory professionals, medical laboratory scientists, and board-certified pathologists who play a vital role in advancing every aspect of modern healthcare and clinical diagnostics.

You truly are “Diagnosis Detectives” who “solve” patient cases—one test at a time.  Clinical diagnosticians are the foundation of modern healthcare, and laboratory professionals get results!  Lab is Fab … and so are you!

Thank you for choosing SCC Soft Computer as your LIS vendor and for the critical, lifesaving work you perform every day behind the scenes.  We are proud to share this journey with you and look forward to many more years of mutual success.

Product releases: Q1 2016 update

Clearwater, Florida (May 11, 2016)—SCC Soft Computer is pleased to provide this status update regarding our Q1 2016 product releases.

During first quarter 2016, SCC’s product releases included shipping the following products:

·         SoftLab^® 4.5.4.30

·         SoftMic^® 4.5.4.30

·         SoftWebPlus^® 1.1.0.8

·         SoftTotalQC^® 1.0.4.0

·         SoftA/R^® 4.5.5.3

·         SoftMedia^® 3.2.7.3

·         SoftID.NET 2.6.0.4

SCC Soft Computer continues our strong commitment to R&D and meeting the technological needs of our client base.

Please click here to review the release notes for each of these products; contact your Account Executive to discuss how these products can help your facility.

Educational Services update

Clearwater, Florida (May 11, 2016)—SCC Soft Computer’s award-winning Educational Services (EDS) team is pleased to announce that two of SCC’s clients have once again placed in the annual ranking of the world’s top companies for workforce training and professional development.  It is a real pleasure to offer our congratulations to these learning and development leaders.

Training magazine is the leading business publication for learning and development, human resources, and business management professionals in all industries.  Established in 1964, it has been the ultimate resource for innovative learning and development—in print, in person, and online.  This professional development magazine has advocated training and workforce development as a business tool for more than five decades and delves into management issues such as leadership and succession planning, HR issues such as recruitment and retention, and training issues such as learning theory, on-the-job skills assessments and aligning core workforce competencies to enhance the bottom line impact of training and development programs.

Established in 2001, the Training Top 125 is the prominent annual list of companies that excel at employee training and development and are unsurpassed in harnessing human capital.

On Monday night, February 15, at the spectacular annual Training Top 125 black tie gala, This Magic Moment, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, two of SCC’s clients learned where they placed in this annual ranking of the world’s training leaders.

Baylor made their debut in this annual ranking of the top companies for workforce training in 2010 and has consistently ranked among the Training Top 125 ever since.

In fiscal year 2015, 450 new supervisors at Baylor Scott & White Health were required to take 40 hours of blended learning instruction.  This included training in the 10 supervisor-level competencies, role transition, policies, systems, and tools.  Courseware included pre-reading, e-learning, on-demand videos, interviews with successful leaders, creation of development plans, participation in Learning Circles, classroom work, and an assessment of leadership competencies by their leader.

·         They rated their courses 96% for overall value.

·         Their retention of knowledge was 91%.

·         Their application to the job was 92%.¹

As the geriatric population grows exponentially, so does the need for qualified nurses to care for them.  Baylor Scott & White Health received a grant from the Deerbrook Charitable Trust to promote safe, quality, compassionate care for older hospitalized patients.  This curriculum was created to deliver instructionally sound and effective learning (all content is shorter than 10 minutes) in various media including:

1.       More than 150 on-demand modules that teach healthcare providers about the unique aspects of treating geriatric patients.  Content includes delirium, pressure ulcers, polypharmacy, ageism, normal aging, geriatric depression, sleep disorders, elder abuse/neglect, home safety, end-of-life care, osteoporosis, fractures, palliative care, and oral health.  The organization partnered with subject matter experts at universities and around the world.  The specific protocols taught in these modules helped Baylor Scott & White Health exceed its quality goal by 2.95 percent, by reducing the number of hospital-acquired injuries/conditions.

2.       Four i-books (also converted to Android app):

§  Care of the Older Adult

§  Dementia

§  Pressure Ulcers

§  Learning with the Benefit of Technology

3.       Five mobile apps:

§  DemintiAssist

§  ElderGuide

§  MobiSafe

§  Staging PU

§  NICHE

4.       Six videos

5.       14 downloadable posters

6.       A Geriatricks newsletter that has QR codes and embedded links to relevant sites with tools.

7.       36 nurses were certified in Geriatric Nursing (previously there were none).  This helped Baylor Scott & White Health exceed its retention goal by 0.6 percent.

Results:  Some 19,132 units of learning have been accessed, with a 79 percent completion rate.  Five schools of nursing are incorporating this content into their curricula.  The organization decreased occurrences of preventable complications in geriatric patients by at least 20 percent, which helped it exceed its overall quality core measures goal by 0.7 percent.

Baylor Scott & White Health decreased “less than 30-day readmissions” for nurse-sensitive issues by 10 percent.  It also decreased length of stay for geriatric patients by 15 percent, which helped it exceed its financial goal by 3.68 percent.²

Congratulations to Baylor Scott & White Health for ranking among the 2016 Training Top 125 and for receiving a 2016 Best Practice Award!

Christiana Care made their debut in this annual ranking of the top companies for workforce training in 2012 and has consistently ranked among the Training Top 125 ever since.

The Language Interpreter Network at Christiana Care (LINCC) identifies, evaluates, trains, and compensates bilingual employees to provide safe, competent medical interpretation.  Employees from five continents and 26 countries completed 24 hours of classroom training, including interpreting techniques, ethics, and cultural mediation/advocacy, and passed written and oral examinations.  Of the 70 graduates, 58 qualified to provide medical interpretation for patients; 12 qualified to interpret in non-medical encounters as “patient access liaisons.”  LINCC has expanded Christiana Care’s in-house interpreting capability from two languages—Spanish and American Sign Language—to 18 languages, ranging from Arabic to Yoruba.³

Congratulations to Christiana Care for ranking among the 2016 Training Top 125!

SNUG Update

Clearwater, Florida (May 11, 2016)—On behalf of the Soft Network Users Group and the SNUG Executive Board, SCC Soft Computer—SNUG 2016 Diamond Sponsor—is pleased to provide this status update regarding SNUG 2016, SNUG’s 24^th annual conference, meeting, and expo.

Throughout 2016, SNUG is celebrating the Olympics spirit and what it means to be champions—by design—as we go for the gold in healthcare information technology … together.

SNUG’s annual conference had an Olympics theme—Champions by Design · Going for the Gold—and the location of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, influenced several of our networking events.  This theme was also appropriate because 2016 also happens to be the 120^th anniversary of the First Modern Olympics Games, which were held in Athens, Greece in April 1896, 1,500 years after being banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.

126 attendees (including 43 first-time attendees) representing 59 SCC client sites participated in the “Games” of the XXIV (24^th) SNUG Summit.

Sunday evening, April 17, SNUG conference attendees and SCC staff mingled over an array of hors d’oeuvres on the poolside lawn at the Sheraton Sand Key during the SNUG 2016 Welcome Reception.

The conference officially began Monday morning at the Opening Session, where 2015/2016 SNUG Vice President, Corbin Ellsaesser welcomed everyone.  SCC’s CEO gave a brief “State of the Union” address before Corbin came back on stage to introduce 2015/2016 SNUG President, Melinda Doherty, who spoke for a few minutes about the importance of teamwork in the overall success of healthcare organizations.  SNUG 2016 keynote speaker, Robyn Benincasa delivered an inspiring address on extreme teamwork as she tied in her experiences as a world-champion eco-challenge adventure racer with the critical role played by high-performing teams.

The four-day conference provided educational sessions, hands-on lab access, workshops, roundtables, and networking events.  This year, SNUG provided two outstanding featured speakers on Wednesday, R. Bruce Wellman, MD, Pathologist/Medical Director, Carle Physicians Group/Carle Foundation Hospital and Jane M. Hermansen, MT(ASCP) MBA, Outreach Development Manager, Mayo Medical Laboratories and President-Elect, CLMA.  The conference featured three new tracks in addition to the product tracks.  Of the 63 total sessions, 28 were presented by SCC staff, 23 by SNUG members, six were joint SCC/SNUG sessions, and seven were SNUG Platinum vendor sessions.  The last session of the conference was a two-hour LIS Administrator workshop that was open to all SNUG conference attendees.

It’s not all work at the annual SNUG conference.  Several fun activities during the week helped attendees break the ice, reconnect, and network with their colleagues from other client sites as well as members of SCC’s support staff and SNUG sponsors.  It’s the ultimate way to mix business and pleasure—who says you can’t have fun while you’re working?!

This year, 17 vendor sponsors helped make the conference a success.  Tuesday, during the vendor fair, attendees visited the vendors and received stickers on each vendor’s “gold medal.”  Attendees who brought their completed game cards to the Brazilian-themed vendor reception that evening were entered into a drawing for a chance to win prizes.  Platinum vendors, STS and S&P teamed up and threw a Rio Carnival-inspired “After Party” where attendees received masks and danced the night away.  Wednesday evening, SNUG’s Diamond Sponsor hosted the annual SCC SNUG Appreciation Banquet where attendees were introduced to the new SNUG board before they enjoyed an evening of dining and dancing with an elegant black and gold flair.

During the annual SNUG Business Meeting Wednesday morning, the 2016/2017 SNUG Executive Board was elected.

Introducing your 2016/2017 SNUG Executive Board:

µ  SNUG Past President: Melinda Doherty, Baylor Scott and White Health

µ  SNUG President:  Corbin Ellsaesser, Christiana Care Health System

µ  SNUG Vice President:  Debbie Czarnecki, NorDx—MaineHealth

µ  SNUG Secretary:  Steve Pleschourt, Mayo Clinic

µ  SNUG Treasurer:  Nikki Van Ingen, Holland Hospital

µ  SNUG Assistant Secretary:  Kenneth Singleton, Sparrow Health System

µ  SNUG Assistant Treasurer:  Shawna Andriese, Renown Regional Medical Center

µ  SNUG Membership Chairman:  Brenda Duff, Orange Regional Medical Center

µ  SNUG SIG Coordinator:  Sharon Black, North Point Laboratory

µ  SNUG Customer Service Coordinator:  JoAnn Logue O’Malley, Beaumont Health

µ  SNUG Board Member:  Chung-Hee Row, National Institutes of Health

µ  SNUG Auxiliary Board Member: Earle Barnes, National Institutes of Health

… And, the 2016/2017 Annual Conference Planning Committee:

µ  SNUG Annual Planning Chair:  Melinda Doherty, Baylor Scott and White Health

µ  Planning Committee Member:  Melissa Craft, St. Francis Medical Center

µ  Planning Committee Member:  Laura Jones, River Oaks Hospital

µ  Planning Committee Member:  Tim Fink, National Institutes of Health

µ  Planning Committee Member:  Tony Barnes, National Institutes of Health

Save the date for SNUG 2017!

Plans are already underway for SNUG 2017.  The conference will be held during the week of May 21^st at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort.  We hope to see you in May on spectacular Clearwater Beach!

For more information about the annual SNUG conference, please visit the SNUG Conference Info page at http://snuginconline.org/info/

Regulatory Affairs News

Clearwater, Florida (May 11, 2016)—SCC’s Regulatory Affairs department is pleased to provide this quarterly update.

SCC’s SoftLab^® versions 4.0.7, 4.0.8, and 4.5.4 are 2014 Edition Health Information Technology¹ Compliant

(Clearwater, FL) April 28, 2016 – SCC Soft Computer is pleased to announce that SCC’s laboratory information system, SoftLab^®, version 4.0.8 is 2014 Edition Health Information Technology² compliant.

SoftLab^® versions 4.0.7, 4.0.8 and 4.5.4 were certified by ICSA Labs in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

These certifications do not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

SoftLab^® 4.0.7

On January 10, 2014, SCC Soft Computer’s SoftLab^® 4.0.7 received 2014 Edition EHR Technology certification (certificate number CC-2014-100005-1).

SoftLab^® 4.0.8

On February 20, 2016, SCC Soft Computer’s SoftLab^® 4.0.8 received 2014 Edition Health Information Technology³ certification (certificate number 140059R00).

SoftLab^® 4.5.4

On April 21, 2014, SCC Soft Computer’s SoftLab^® 4.5.4 received 2014 Edition EHR Technology certification (certificate number 140059R01).

Certification Criteria

SoftLab versions 4.0.7, 4.0.8, and SoftLab 4.5.4 received 2014 Edition Health Information Technology⁴ certification for the following criteria:

ü  170.314(b)(5) – Incorporate laboratory tests and values/results

ü  170.314(b)(6) – Transmission of electronic laboratory tests and values/results to ambulatory providers

ü  170.314 (f)(4) – Transmission of reportable laboratory tests and values/results

ü  170.314(g)(1) – Automated numerator recording

ü  170.314(g)(4) – Quality Management System

Additional Software

The additional software relied upon to comply with one or more of the certification criteria include:

ü  SCC Soft Computer Reference Lab Interface

ü  SCC Soft Computer ELR Interface

ü  SCC Soft Computer Result Reporting Interface

For full details, please visit www.softcomputer.com > Regulatory Affairs (or www.softcomputer.com > Technical Support > Regulatory Affairs).

Join Us...

SCC has a busy “on the road” schedule where we’re showcasing our Laboratory and AP+Genetics LIS solutions during Q2 2016 and throughout all of 2016.

Clearwater Florida (May 11, 2016)—SCC is pleased to announce that we are exhibiting at the following trade shows during second and third quarters (Q2 and Q3) 2016.

In April, we were at locations around the globe, including the following:

Indonesian Clinical Pathology/Laboratory

Borobudur Hotel-Jakarta | Jakarta, Indonesia | April 8 – 10

Ohio Connecting Lab (CLC)

Doubletree Columbus-Worthington | Columbus, Ohio | April 14 – 15

The Compass Group Spring Meeting

Gaylord Texan | Gaylord, Texas | April 14 – 15

Connecting Healthcare IT

Berlin Exhibition Grounds | Berlin, Germany | April 19 – 21

SNUG 2016 | 24^th Annual Soft Network User Group Healthcare Information Technology Summit & Expo

Sheraton Sand Key Resort | Clearwater Beach, Florida | April 17 – 21 (for a recap of SNUG’s annual conference, please click here)

Executive War College

Sheraton New Orleans | New Orleans, Louisiana | April 26 – 27

Starting in mid-May, SCC will be at these locations around the world:

European Society of Human Genetics

CCIB-Barcelona International Convention Center | Barcelona, Spain | May 21 – 23

Pathology Informatics Summit 2016

Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | May 24 – 25

Africa Health

Gallagher Centre | Johannesburg, South Africa | June 8 – 10

American Cytogenetics Conference

Sunriver Resort | Sunriver, Oregon | June 27 – 29

2016 AACC Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo

Pennsylvania Convention Center | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | August 2 – 4

College of American Pathologists

Wynn/Encore Las Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada | September 26 – 27

We hope to see you when we’re on the road this year.