At the beginning of September, Mylab’s mobile My+ app started to be used at the regional laboratory of NordLab in Oulu for test requests made outside normal rounds.
Approximately 150 users were trained over the course of 3 weeks to use Mylab’s My+ mobile sampling application.
Our use of the system has got off to a really start after just a few minor teething troubles, says Sampling and Customer Service Head Nurse Kaisi Kaila.
An initial issue was that some Department Nurses had not previously used smartphones, so learning the new app was a more extensive task for them.
In addition, not all departments have yet adopted the new procedure where labels for test requests created separately from the doctor’s rounds are not printed on the ward and no telephone call to the laboratory is needed.
I believe that departments will like this procedure, because it means less time spent on the phone for them as well, Kaila predicts.
Less footwork
Use of the mobile app for urgent sampling decreases time spent on the phone to the laboratory as well as less traffic between departments and the laboratory.
Oulu University Hospital extends over a large area. During weekends we sometimes need to walk several miles, says Assistant Head Nurse Liisa Bäckström.
The mobile app laboratory enables nurses to receive new test requests on their ward rounds, without the need for a separate phone call. As a result, time stamps of acknowledgements will also become more accurate.
The mobile app has already made task management easier at the laboratory. From the mobile app, the laboratory nurse in charge sees at a glance the number of remaining urgent requests. Laboratory nurses find it useful that additional requests are coordinated outside regular sampling rounds.
In the future, certain wards at Oulu University Hospital may try abandoning set ward rounds altogether and take laboratory tests when requested.
The mobile app is essential for this type of procedure, Bäckström says.
Implementation went smoothly
From Mylab’s point of view, implementation of the My+ mobile sampling application was seamless.
Users at NordLab Oulu needed very little assistance to start using the mobile sampling system, says Software Specialist Maria Sorvo.
The NordLab Oulu regional laboratory had already tried the mobile app a few years back, so specification and practices were well defined when the actual introduction started. In addition, Mylab arranged a one-day training course and many of the laboratory nurses participated.