Roche introduces navify® Sample Tracking for labs to track patient test samples before even reaching lab premises

/ in E-News

• At Worldlab-EuroMedLab, Roche presents navify® Sample Tracking, a digital solution allowing labs to connect to innovative applications that monitor quality and detect errors in patient test samples along the entire journey to the lab.

• navify Sample Tracking is part of the navify® Diagnostics portfolio, a set of digital solutions enabling labs to drive end-to-end operational excellence across care settings.

• Roche showcases how its open digital ecosystem approach accelerates innovation adoption within laboratories and points of care by connecting technology companies with healthcare providers simply, securely, and cost-effectively.  

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) introduces navify® Sample Tracking, its cloud-based digital solution helping laboratories mitigate the unique quality challenges that can occur during the diagnostic test sample journey, typically outside the lab setting, at WorldLab-EuroMedLab meeting 21-25 May in Rome, Italy. The company is also displaying its recently introduced digital portfolio of navify Diagnostics¹ that integrates data streams and uses insights to support operational efficiencies and clinical decision-making in healthcare.

The pathway to disease diagnosis requires tracking a patient’s diagnostic sample from start to finish to support clinical decisions. There are no standardised end-to-end solutions to address this and most² patient sample errors occur during the pre-pre-analytical (PPA) phase³ (i.e., collection,transport and reception of patients’ blood (phlebotomy), urine and other test samples), which typically lies outside of the laboratory’s control. For example, if patients need to provide a new sample due to an error, patients may experience discomfort, decreased trust and even potential delays in treatment. For laboratories, re-sampling increases operating costs and decreases laboratory productivity. In North American and European hospitals, a single pre-analytical error on average can cost $208 USD.⁴

With navify® Sample Tracking, lab managers can gain greater control by accessing and combining innovative applications to tailor and scale the solution to meet their lab’s unique needs and it helps lab managers monitor and measure diagnostic test sample quality from the start –  before samples even reach lab premises. navify Sample Tracking directly interfaces the lab with PPA solution vendors and the laboratories’ information system (LIS) and the middleware cobas® infinity lab to provide fast, secure pre-integrated PPA innovation into any laboratory workflow.

“Labs have incredible possibilities today to digitally transform their operations using insights to improve quality and operational efficiencies, not just for the lab, but for the entire healthcare system. More importantly, patients benefit when we can reduce sample errors from the start. For example, if a new sample is needed due to an error, the patient may experience uncertainty waiting for decisions that are time critical and even possible delays in diagnosis or treatment,” said Moritz Hartmann, Head of Roche Information Solutions at Roche Diagnostics. “By working together, as a strategic partner with deep healthcare expertise combined with our flexible, scaleable navify portfolio of integrated digital solutions, we believe labs can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of healthcare.”

This easy access to innovative applications is made possible by the secure digital ecosystems convened by Roche. In navify Sample Tracking, one of several ecosystems⁵ offered by Roche to labs, the collaborators include: BinaryTech, Deigma, Etheclo, Inpeco, Smart4Diagnostics, Tracie Healthcare Solutions, and the newly-joined robominds, thereby covering the end-to-end PPA process. navify Sample Tracking is available to markets in Europe today with plans to expand globally next year.

The portfolio of navify digital solutions is helping labs address today’s challenges, such as:

• Non-integrated technologies that can result in low interoperability of devices, instruments and systems and impede the ability to share data easily and seamlessly across healthcare settings. Some experts estimate this can result in healthcare costs of up to $30 billion.⁶
• healthcare worker shortages worldwide which are estimated to rise up to 10 million by 2030 according to the World Health Organization.⁷

navify digital solutions enable healthcare systems to integrate data streams across labs and point of care operations. This digital infrastructure connects Roche and non-Roche solutions and allows secure integration of data streams at scale. navify solutions are designed with a certified, multi-layer, secure-by-design cloud architecture with robust cybersecurity to comply with data privacy regulations,⁸ as interoperability and data security remain major challenges for labs today.

Furthermore, the navify integrated solution portfolio⁹ helps labs tackle staff shortages while improving turnaround times and operational efficiency in the lab and at the points of care. Selected new solutions include navify® Control, a command cockpit providing lab managers with remote control within the lab for faster decision-making especially when responding to operational issues. navify® Monitoring, a solution providing real-time transparency into lab operations. Finally, navify® Analytics enables lab managers and point of care coordinators to optimise performance by using retrospective data to identify opportunities for staffing service levels, process turnaround times, and quality improvements.