New York Oncology Hematology Laboratories Leverages Orchard LIS for More Than Two Decades to Provide Cancer Care

New York Oncology Hematology (NYOH) laboratories have multiple locations that use Orchard® Harvest™ laboratory information system (LIS) for connectivity, workflow enhancement, error reduction, and inspection preparedness. Their long-term partnership with Orchard Software now includes Orchard’s System Administration (SA) program to help maintain consistency and system operability during periods of organizational restructuring.

NYOH Provides Comprehensive Cancer Care

With eight locations, NYOH is a leading provider of community-based cancer care and blood disorder services. Their offices, with 35 physicians and over 350 cancer care specialists, see more than 100,000 cancer patient visits annually. Services include research, radiation and oncology services, palliative care, social work, and women’s imaging and wellness.

At the forefront of cancer care, they were the region’s first oncology and radiology practice outside of a hospital setting. NYOH offers the largest clinical research and drug trial operation and is the area’s only stem cell transplant and neuro-oncology care.

Award-winning Laboratory Services

NYOH laboratories are CLIA-certified, COLA accredited, and have won COLA’s Laboratory Excellence Award. The NYOH cancer centers have laboratories at six locations that provide a wide range of services, including phlebotomy, hematology, chemistry, and immunochemistry. Staffed by more than 30 New York State–certified clinical laboratory scientists, technicians, and support personnel, the lab performs thousands of testing procedures annually, with testing volumes in 2023 totaling nearly two million.

Long-term Partnership with Orchard Software

NYOH laboratories implemented Orchard Harvest in 2002, more than 20 years ago, and their lab has grown alongside the Orchard solution. As their cancer care center expanded and added services, so has the laboratory, experiencing Orchard Harvest software development from version 2.5 to version 15, consistently configuring their LIS solution to meet their changing needs. With customers like NYOH in mind, Orchard’s products continue to evolve based on feedback from laboratory professionals, making it an incredible resource and tool for laboratories.

Lab Productivity Gains with Rules & Configurability

In cancer care, accurate, rapid results are vital. NYOH laboratories need the efficiency and time savings offered within Orchard Harvest to automate their workflow. With multiple testing locations and complex insurance requirements, they rely heavily on Orchard’s rules-based decision support and system configurability to meet their patients’ needs.

Kristina Hogle, Manager of Laboratory Services, said, “Specific to our market, we have a lot of localized managed care that dictates where we have to send testing. Orchard’s rules-based decision support helps us keep on top of things.” The lab uses Orchard’s rules to split and route testing based on tests ordered, lab location, and patient insurance.

“Orchard’s rules that route tests and split orders save time for front line staff. They don’t have to remember all the different test routing, so it speeds up the process and makes it more efficient,” Hogle said.

The laboratory also gains greater efficiency with Orchard’s auto-verification rules for hematology and chemistry testing, auto-verifying up to 65 percent of their normal results. “Orchard’s auto-verification is a huge time saver, especially in our patient population, which requires special handling of abnormal results,” Hogle said. “Even with our patients, about 65 percent of our results auto-release, which is a significant time savings for our techs.”

Data Mining Capabilities Create Inspection-ready Reports

NYOH laboratories also use the data mining capabilities in Orchard’s solution, allowing them to pull reports when needed and stay prepared for inspection.

“Being comfortable with [Orchard’s solution] as a whole gives you that availability to do what you need to do to enhance your regulatory maintenance,” Hogle said.

The labs create reports that allow them to track:

• Sample delivery and testing location
• Testing volumes and types per lab location
• Phlebotomy productivity
• Provider orders
• Test turnaround times
• Rejected orders and overdue samples
• Proficiency testing

For example, Hogle explained, “We use Orchard’s result browsers to troubleshoot proficiency testing issues and ensure patient results were unaffected. As part of our investigation, we data mine by date/time, pinpoint specific analytes, and pull the results for review.”

The labs also employ data mining browsers to support documentation for competency assessments. For example, the lab manager uses filters and result browsers to search for a specific technologist by name and review the tests performed, satisfying the “recording and reporting test results” component of competency assessment reviews.

QC Rules & Checklists Save Time & Reduce Errors

Within Orchard’s system, the laboratory has set up daily quality control (QC) requirements for each testing location. They have further leveraged the solution’s capabilities to create daily checklists that streamline their processes and ensure they perform the necessary quality checks that allow accurate reporting of results. As an example, the lab uses Orchard Harvest to keep a daily record of:

• Temperatures
• Instrument background checks
• Stability of sed rate stand
• Required cleaning
• Microscope stain QC checks

Referring to the checklists, Hogle explained, “All the things we need are right there ‘in your face,’ and we don’t have to worry about pulling out a clipboard. The list is right there in your Review Results queue until you respond.”

They also employ rules for QC that ensure regulatory requirements are being followed. For example, Orchard’s system auto-orders QC at appropriately scheduled intervals and provides a rule for waived urine testing that prevents result approval when QC has not been performed within the lab’s specified time.

“The rules and automation are big time-savers that help reduce errors and help us avoid inspection issues,” said Hogle. “Our inspectors love the QC and the fact that the Levey-Jennings is very easy to read and includes qualitative and quantitative reports.”

Working with Orchard Support & System Administration

Hogle, who has been working with Orchard and its LIS solution for more than 20 years, feels that the relationship is very transparent and collaborative. She has been pleased with their decision to  procure on-site support over the years and shares that the Field Implementation Analysts that she worked with were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. “[The Field Implementation Analyst] brought a wealth of knowledge and really made sure to provide detailed explanations,” Hogle said.

The lab currently uses Orchard’s System Administration program for added support as it navigates various organizational changes and transitions. Hogle explained, “[Orchard’s System Administration team] has been very helpful. We have restructured multiple times over the past few years, so having somebody monitoring the system made sense. It has helped us take off that weight as we plan for the future. The SA team works with you, checking to make sure your system is working, but also training you to use your system. You’re doing it together. It’s not like ‘here’s my problem, fix it;’ it’s you  working together with them,” Hogle said.

NYOH Laboratories Plan for the Future

NYOH laboratories’ future plans include continuing to streamline, move forward, and offer the best patient care. They plan to continue to leverage all the tools offered in their Orchard solution and are in the process of thinking through the logistics of their LIS environment with plans to investigate Orchard Cloud Services.

“I find that Orchard’s system is very intuitive, user-friendly, and easy to train compared to other systems that are available,” Hogle said. “There are a ton of things that it can do for you if you take the time to learn it. As we continue through our transition, we plan to continue to work with Orchard.”

Looking forward, Hogle summarized the laboratory’s top concerns. “In the laboratory field, from a business standpoint, we are dealing with the regulation of laboratory testing, complex insurance guidelines, payer restrictions, and maintaining the ability to be reimbursed for our work—on top of the pending decline in staffing. This means we have to use technology to be more efficient.”

Using advanced technologies and Orchard Software’s sophisticated information systems, NYOH plans to continue to provide convenient access to essential laboratory services and the immediate testing and timely reporting of results that their patients require.