With momentum building in AI and digital pathology, innovation is paving the way for progress. X-Lab is fast becoming a rising star in the Irish landscape, making strides and garnering attention of laboratory leads with exciting lab interoperability solutions. With an unwavering dedication, X-Lab has now secured three significant partnerships but is also poised to welcome more pathology labs onto the Labgnostic pathology exchange network in the coming year.
Riding the Wave of Implementation: Cavan General Hospital
As we approach 2024, it’s almost three years since our first Republic of Ireland (ROI) customer started to utilise the Labgnostic network. The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) went live with Labgnostic in 2021, with Cork University Hospital following closely in 2022. The Mater has been instrumental with recent user acceptance testing with our third ROI customer, Cavan General Hospital. It’s a pleasure to work with our growing customer base in Ireland as they expand their repertoire of tests, both referring and performing.
MMUH in Dublin refers more than 20,000 samples per year to external labs. Before Labgnostic, each of these samples, and the tests performed on them, were managed manually. The Mater’s average TaT has now been reduced by 104 days plummeting from 115 to just 11 days.
Paudy O’Gorman, the Lab Manager at the Mater, said: “Labgnostic has revolutionised the way we do business through the digital management of orders and results of our 20,000 sample referrals…”
Building Bridges, Securing Partnerships
The cornerstone of X-Lab’s progress lies in the power of fostering relationships. Sarah Appleby, Business Development Director for Northern Europe, has been investing time and effort in cultivating these relationships across Ireland. Strategic engagements in October which included participation at conferences such as the IEQAS participant group meeting, the annual Association of Clinical Biochemists in Ireland (ACBI) and the Roche Managed Service Group meeting, have provided Sarah with the valuable opportunity to understand and delve deeper into the challenges faced by Irish medical laboratories. Coupled with targeted meetings, and visits with laboratory leads and staff, it is clear that the solutions X-Lab can provide have resonated across pathology services nationally.
Appetite for EQA automation
Already supporting 95% of the UK NHS Labs with lab2lab connectivity, X-Lab aims to continue to grow the Labgnostic network of connections in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the US. In addition to this, X-Lab also seeks to support Irish labs with the automation of the EQA process through connectivity to their LabgnosticEQA solution. Indeed, across the country the appetite for EQA connectivity with our long standing UK NEQAS customers (Birmingham Quality, IMMQAS and UK NEQAS Haematology) has emerged.
The Perfect Timing: Post-Covid
The timing couldn’t be better, as the shadows of the pandemic fade away, hospitals are now clear to explore innovative solutions and digital technologies to contribute to efficiencies in lab BAU processes, cost and resource savings, reduced turnaround times, and of course increased patient safety. An X-Lab roadshow back in March 2020 laid the groundwork, but larger projects and the pandemic hampered progress. Now, with the tide turning, hospitals are keen to explore Labgnostic and LabgnosticEQA’s offerings.
Unlocking Possibilities: Conversations Beyond Expectations
X-Lab’s entry into Ireland has set a momentum which is set to surge further. With promising dialogues underway and several labs on the brink of committing to implementations of Labgnostic and LabgnosticEQA with further conversations being had to explore use cases for X-Lab’s Order Comms solution, LabReach. The relationships being built and nurtured reflect the company’s ethos of trust, reliability and forward-thinking.
A Future Fuelled by Excitement
As X-Lab continues to make strides in Ireland, the focus remains on understanding and addressing the unique needs of the Irish healthcare system. With limited lab interconnectivity in Ireland and with Labgnostic’s proven capability as the National Pathology Exchange (NPEx) in England, the enthusiasm from hospitals, coupled with the positive reception at events, indicates the timing is right for X-Lab in Ireland.
The company is poised to play a pivotal role in transforming electronic referral processes nationally, with a proven track record for delivering solutions that resonate with clinicians, commissioners, and, most importantly, patients. The journey in Ireland is not just a progression; it’s a testament to X-Lab’s commitment to shaping the future of lab technology.
