Insurance broker
In brief
Base is an integrated Software Middleware capable of independently aggregating and managing information and communication flows between laboratories and connected hospital facilities. It is a modular web application installed in an automated central laboratory, which allows the collection of bacteriological test bookings, processing of samples through robots with machine learning, tracking of results, and return, once validated, to the relevant hospitals.
Bedside, a Treviso-based company operating in the biomedical field and active in several hospitals in the area, having intercepted these kinds of needs, involved us as a technology partner to develop an innovative "Hub and Spoke" solution that could be replicable right away in other hospital settings.
Context
Regardless of geographic areas, the presence of university clinics and hospital facilities in the territory implies the existence of a large number of laboratories, often operating in a disconnected manner from their USL of reference, through the provision of different tools and software and with limited communication between them and the hospital companies.
In this context, it was essential to be able to adopt a "HUB and SPOKE" model, capable of informatically and organizationally uniting the different facilities, integrating and improving existing technology, and unifying management methods.The goal: to automate basic activities in microbiology, increase the quality of reporting, reduce costs per individual sample and the possibility of incurring human errors.
Development process
Ca' Foncello Hospital in Treviso was the pilot HUB we worked with. After an initial analysis phase on how the facility managed the flow of samples to the laboratory, communications and subsequent reporting, we proposed the development of an integrated middleware software that could automate the testing process in its microbiology laboratories and streamline flows. It was an innovative technology that would also enable the sharing of important information and statistical data in real time, which is crucial to fight the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance.
In just a few months, we brought to life BASE, a web-based application installed at the hub hospital's CED and available to all enabled addresses within the connected hospitals. A "HUB and SPOKE" system that enables:
- Automating through robots with machine learning tasks that were previously manual.
- Tracking each step through the use of special bar-codes.
- Analyze statistics of the data produced, for real-time information.
- Define customized alerts for physicians and departments, with notification via email or text message.
In parallel with software development, the creative team came up with concept and interface design. Technicians, now accustomed to using other systems, needed to quickly and easily learn how to use the application, and to be able to process and monitor data every day easily and with very streamlined mechanics. The design therefore focused on creating an interface that would facilitate the use of the new tool, both in hospitals and laboratories.
Output
The outcomes resulting from the integration of BASE at Ca' Foncello Hospital, in addition to helping to innovate operations in the hospital's laboratories, have generated the development of a number of new features:
- Integration and management of new examinations (epidemiology) and new machines;
- inclusion of the entire molecular biology laboratory, with related management of its processes;
- installation of the BASE software to the entire Treviso area (Conegliano, Vittorio Veneto and Castelfranco Veneto), made possible thanks to the "hub and spoke" architecture of our software.
