2. Context
Page-11 –
NHS Scotland Shared Services – Laboratories Programme Strategy Paper

3. Context

4. Problems with Lab to Lab
The current paper-based system is slow and costly:
A manual system for sending external tests (2-3% per annum are externally referred)
Wastes an estimated £3m per year in lost worker productivity
Paper-based system prone to error
Constant data re-entry between laboratories
Mistakes are easy to make but hard to spot
Lives of patients potentially resting on results
Loss of data

5. Lab to Lab vision
“A national lab to lab exchange for laboratory medicine. From any lab, to any lab”
Provided for the NHS, by the NHS
>50% NHS coverage –
70+ contracts covering 77 NHS Trusts/FTs/Health Boards
Also PHE laboratories, private providers and national/regional level organisations.
Largest network sending 30,000+ reports p/month
One single “exchange” for the whole of the UK

6. The NPEx service
80+ NHS organisations have subscribed to the NPEx service

7. The solution
Manage samples across labs with (and without) a LIMS solution
Reduce paperwork
Save time
Messaging standards (i.e. HL7)
Software/Infrastructure as a service

8. The solution

9. LIMS CSC TelePath (HL7/PMIP) CSC Apex (HL7/PMIP)
CliniSys WinPath (CSV over FTP)
CliniSys LabCentre (HL7)
TechniData (HL7)
OmniLab (HL7)
Roche Swisslab (HL7)
Sunquest (HL7)
Molis (HL7)
Bespoke (Oxford, Haematos, NEQAS, ViaPath Integration Engine)
InterSystems
MediTech
EPIC (HL7)
Cerner PathNet (HL7)
Fordman (HL7)

10. Additional value add

11. Additional value add

12. Microbiology

13. Additional value add

14. Additional value add

15. Birmingham Quality
A snapshot of some of the schemes that can be automated via NPEx.

16. Additional value add

17. Additional value add

18. User Forum

19. Additional value add

20. Genetics

21. Additional value add

22. Non-NHS labs

23. The solution

24. Benefits - refer TAT : Order transcription Report delivery
Report transcription
Report QA
Time saved

25. Benefits - perform
15% of work is paper-based. 85% is electronic (provided by two solutions – 1 of which is NPEx).
80% of all errors are in the above 15%
Photocopies
Senior level resolution