Software Point to deliver a blood transfusion management system for Northern Ostrobotnia Hospital District in Finland
Software Point, a Nordic IT company specializing in laboratory information and management systems (LIMS), will deliver a new blood transfusion management system for the Northern Ostrobotnia Hospital District in Finland. According to a recently signed agreement, the system will be taken into use in all hospitals of the region, including the Oulu University Hospital, in spring 2009.
The blood transfusion management system is a vital tool in ensuring the quality of the blood products consumed in a hospital and in managing the logistics of blood products. The system will provide efficient means for tracking the whole lifecycle of blood units from the moment they arrive from the manufacturer, Finnish Red Cross blood service. The European Union blood directive requires keeping detailed records of all events relating to a particular blood unit and of all the transfusions administered to the patients. According to the directive, all transfusion events and undesired effects are to be recorded in detail into the system.
The newly established EU legislation requiring full traceability and the aging of their current system were the primary drivers for Northern Ostrobotnia Hospital District for renewing their system. Hannu Saarni, project manager for the blood transfusion system project at the hospital district, comments “The solution from Software Point was flexible and it has a lot of functionality enabling us to streamline our working processes beyond what was initially thought possible. This solution was also radically more cost-effective than its competition.”
Northern Ostrobotnia Hospital District is the first customer for the new blood transfusion management system from Software Point. “Our approach differs from the competition. For the past three years we have put a lot of effort into developing a whole new, multi-disciplinary hospital laboratory information system. Our system has modules for all clinical laboratory disciplines. The blood transfusion module was the last one missing and it soon completes our system, where there already are modules for clinical chemistry, microbiology and pathology. Our customers may choose to use one or more modules within the same system. It may be feasible to start small and expand the scope of the system in stages” says Andrea Holmberg, CEO of Software Point.
Software Point’s solutions for healthcare laboratories are based on Sapphire LIMS, a world-leading LIMS developed by LabVantage Solutions Inc in the USA. “We are the exclusive representatives of Sapphire in all of the Nordic countries and have supplied tens of installations to leading laboratories in the Nordics. We chose Sapphire as the platform for our next generation LIMS offering already back in 2001. Sapphire’s web based technology stack and browser-based user interface was something we considered important back then. Even today, these features are something most customers in the healthcare laboratories still find unique. This gives us a substantial competitive edge” comments Andrea Holmberg.
Software Point is a Nordic IT company specializing in laboratory information and management systems (LIMS). Since its establishment in early 1990’s, Software Point has delivered more than 500 laboratory information systems for its customers in the Nordics. The customer base represents leading companies in virtually all industries, including manufacturing, research, analytical services and healthcare. Software Point has local offices in all of the Nordic countries and it employs more than 60 professionals with comprehensive IT and laboratory backgrounds.
Corporate web site: www.softwarepoint.com
