Queen’s Hospital brings allergy testing in-house with Siemens
Immulite system
7 Feb 2011
Queen’s Hospital in Romford, UK, has brought its allergy
testing in-house to deliver cost savings and improve outcomes.
To manage the new service the biochemistry team integrated the
testing alongside routine work on the existing Immulite 2000 System
from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics by utilising the Siemens
3gAllergy test.
The decision to bring testing of the top 20 allergens in-house
was made following a continued rise in requests, especially from GPs
and paediatricians. Average turnaround times for common allergens
was around three weeks.
After the introduction of the in-house tests, regular audits show
that over 90% are ready in less than two weeks. Although the
decision to bring testing in-house has in part contributed to
increased workload, the Immulite 2000 provided the analytical
support alongside a strategy of user education and test request form
remodelling.
“When we modified the allergy service we also introduced an
advice booklet and revised test request form for service users such
as GPs and paediatricians. This was about education and also aimed
to make clinicians refine their thoughts about the extent of tests
requests,” states Zahra Khatami Consultant Biochemist at Queen’s
Hospital.
“It is really important when you bring tests in-house that you
provide as much support for your users as possible. To use services
appropriately and understand what tests are available, booklets or
seminars are good tools. This not only helps rationalise requests,
but also enables the better management of patients and improved
outcomes.”
Testing the top 20 allergens using Siemens 3g
Allergy on the Immulite 2000
A contract with the Royal London ensures that a clinical
immunologist oversees the services at Queen’s Hospital and the
education booklet and revised test request forms were prepared
in-line with all required guidelines. The Queen’s Hospital
Biochemistry team meet with the dedicated immunologist once a
quarter and have access by telephone and email at most other times.
Abigail Wynne-Jones, Immunoassay Product Manager at Siemens
Healthcare Diagnostics states, “Queen’s Hospital in Romford has
succeeded in bringing its common allergy testing in-house by working
with its service users in order to gain buy-in and support for the
change. With the ongoing challenges in healthcare, this is a great
example of how maximising existing analytical resources can deliver
benefits to service provision.”