IMPAC to Offer Specimen Tracking using Barcoding Technology
IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc., part of the Elekta Group and a leading provider of information technology solutions for pathology and oncology, today announced a software licensing agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) that will allow for the inclusion of enhanced barcoding functionality in IMPAC’s PowerPath® anatomic pathology system.
Under the terms of the agreement, IMPAC will incorporate barcoding technology developed at MGH into PowerPath for specimen tracking and plans to offer it as a separate module. Barcoding helps expedite the case tracking and specimen location throughout each phase of the diagnostic process by providing special tracking codes for each specimen. During each phase of the process, staff can identify specimens by barcode and track the location in the information system, helping to significantly reduce the number of lost or misplaced cases.
As Ulysses J. Balis, M.D., director of Pathology Informatics at MGH, explained, “The barcoding system is analogous to the tracking mechanisms in place at companies like FedEx®. For facilities with large case volumes like ours, it’s essential to have a tracking tool in place that can closely monitor block and slide locations. We developed barcoding for exactly that reason, and we have greatly reduced time lost associated with tracking orders, and missing blocks and slides. More importantly, we have greatly reduced the possibility of misidentifying a slide, as labels are now printed at the cutting stations, in a just-in-time model, as opposed to the conventional histology model, where labels are affixed to slides after they are stained.”
“IMPAC is committed to advancing the functionality of its products and leveraging relevant new technologies. By integrating MGH’s barcoding system into PowerPath, we are helping to further ensure that our customers have the best anatomic pathology system available on the market today,” said Joseph K. Jachinowski, IMPAC president and CEO.
IMPAC will add the barcoding technology into PowerPath over the next 6-12 months for distribution beginning in 2006. For more information about PowerPath and updates on barcoding availability, please visit www.impac.com/pathology
About IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc.
IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc., a company in the Elekta Group, provides healthcare IT solutions that streamline clinical and business operations across the spectrum of cancer care. IMPAC’s open integration to multiple healthcare data and imaging systems offers oncology-specific patient charting and practice management, as well as best-of-breed systems for anatomic pathology, clinical laboratory, and cancer registry. With products that range from diagnosis and treatment through long-term follow-up, IMPAC provides a comprehensive oncology management solution that helps improve overall communication, process efficiency, and quality patient care. www.impac.com
About Elekta
Elekta is an international medical-technology Group, providing meaningful clinical solutions, comprehensive information systems and services for improved cancer care and management of brain disorders. All of Elekta’s solutions employ non-invasive or minimally invasive techniques and are therefore clinically effective, gentle on the patient and cost-effective. www.elekta.com
With approx. 1700 employees, Elekta’s corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden and the company is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange under the ticker EKTAb.
About Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $450 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, cutaneous biology, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, transplantation biology and photomedicine. In 1994, MGH and Brigham and Women’s Hospital joined to form Partners HealthCare, an integrated health care delivery system comprising the two academic medical centers, specialty and community hospitals, a network of physician groups, and nonacute and home health services.
