The extraction of samples is a critical point in patient safety within laboratory processes, with a high probability of errors. However, the Clinical Laboratory Service of the Parc Taulí Healthcare Corporation Consortium (CCSPT) has commented on implementing a digitalized blood sample extraction process in the Corporation's different devices aimed at guaranteeing quality and patient safety throughout the analytical process.
“This is a pioneering project in Spain with a certain history in Parc Taulí, since the extractions we carry out in the Laboratory and in the Primary Care Centers of the CCSPT have been carried out with this process for more than 10 years”, explains Dra. Luz Muñoz, director of the Clinical Laboratory Service.
This new methodology implies that professionals must use digital tools, such as software Code System®, which allows the user to be identified with the health card or identification bracelet and the digital identification of the person responsible for the extraction, together with the use of pre-labeled tubes that eliminate the need to print labels. Overall, the methodology has resulted in a total reduction in sample and patient identification errors, which are the most serious errors, and an improvement in the quality of the samples and in the traceability of the entire extraction.
“Since we started using this digital method, the human error rate is almost zero and this translates into more confidence for both healthcare professionals and the users themselves”, says Dr. Muñoz.
Given the good results, and following the strategic objective of digitizing the CCSPT and the commitment to patient safety, the Clinical Laboratory Service has launched the project to implement this methodology in all the Consortium spaces where analyses are carried out.
“We have begun to implement this method in day hospitals and in the hospital's outpatient clinics, where a significant volume of sample extractions is carried out, and this year we plan to incorporate it throughout the hospitalization area”, explains Carlos García, head of pre-analytics at the Clinical Laboratory Service.
This project positions Parc Taulí as a pioneering center in Spain in integrating advanced technology into a key healthcare process, since its implementation not only improves the operational efficiency of the analytical process, but also reinforces the commitment to innovation, safety and excellence in user care.
Annually, around 450.000 blood samples are taken at the CCSPT, which are then analyzed in the different laboratories of the Clinical Laboratory Service.