Case Study

Better tests, faster answers with an integrated immunoassay & clinical chemistry system

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Jessica Giacona:

Considering that we are the sole provider for general hospital services in this county, our presence is extremely important and vital to the welfare of this community.

Jessica Giacona:

We're bringing on specialty services to our facility and where the laboratory comes into play is that–

Jessica Giacona:

we have to expand our testing and also be able to meet greater demands as far as capacity and turnaround time, to help support all of those expansion projects.

Jessica Giacona:

And part of that means that we have to improve our instrumentation.

John Baginski:

Currently in the laboratory at Auburn Community Hospital we have Abbott for chemistry, immunochemistry, and hematology–

John Bagenski:

because it's consistent, so it's end-to-end. So it's integration. So we can add the latest test. The high-sensitive troponin, fentanyl.

John Bagenski:

Fentanyl has hit this community to an extent and the ER needs to know, ‘Is this person, is it a fentanyl issue or not?’ And so we're able to do that.

John Bagenski:

If we had to send those tests out to a reference lab, it could take two days to get the results, it's too late. So we were able to support the needs of the community in the emergency room for those quick answers of rule in, rule out.

John Bagenski:

We run the hemoglobin A1C and all the other tests, the fentanyl on the Alinity ci-series because it's integrated, it's all on one analyzer. I don't have to pay extra service contracts. I don't have to train staff on more than one analyzer. And so they're able to just put it on, it runs, they understand the process.

John Bagenski:

Accuracy is everything. And so using the instrumentation the techs feel comfortable knowing what they have to put out. They put out a good answer. They prove they put out a good answer. I don't get any phone calls from the physicians questioning any of the tests that we put out.

Jessica Giacona:

The instruments and the assays continue to perform well and expected and consistently and reliably. And that's the most important thing.

Jessica Giacona:

It makes my job easier. I feel like I'm in really great hands with Abbott as a whole.

John Bagenski:

We also run proficiency testing. So I worry every time we get proficiency testing for every analyte we do. If they come back and we failed, and we fail twice, we lose that analyte. And that's detrimental to the hospital.

John Bagenski:

So I'm always worried about the test results that we put out. We don't want to hurt a patient. We don't want to compromise tomorrow.

John Bagenski:

And knowing that I have instrumentation that consistently puts out the right answer, it's standardized,

John Bagenski:

so I don't have that worry of potentially losing that test or failing a proficiency.

John Baginski:

Through the years, I've developed a trust with Abbott.

John Baginski:

Trust is that they're going to be innovative. To go with the going tide. That's part of it—

John Baginski:

it's service, it's the reagents, and it's our service person, but it's also our sales reps.

John Baginski:

I know that if I make a phone call, it's taken care of.

Key Takeaways

Auburn Community Hospital is the sole provider in their region and needed to expand their testing offerings and lab capacity
Abbott's integrated immunoassay and clinical chemistry system delivers consistent, end-to-end diagnostic offerings
Rapid fentanyl testing results dropped from up to two days to under 21 minutes on average

INTEGRATED IACC SYSTEMS better serve clinicians and patients at Auburn Community Hospital

In-House Testing Efficiency

Cost-efficiency and clinical confidence improved with Abbott's IACC system.

Rapid Drugs-of-Abuse Results

Turnaround for drugs-of-abuse testing dropped from up to two days to under 21 minutes on average.

Faster, Confident Cardiac Ruling

Improved troponin sensitivity allows emergency physicians to rule out cardiac events faster.

Background

Auburn Community Hospital is the sole provider of general hospital services for their county of about 80,000 people in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

As the hospital continued to grow their facilities, specialty services and physician network, they also needed to expand their laboratory testing, capacity and turnaround capabilities.

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Challenge

Before expanding their laboratory offerings, Auburn Community Hospital needed faster turnaround times for drug screening and cardiac results, as send-out testing delayed turnaround and added costs.

Growing Emergency Department demands called for greater testing flexibility, capacity and standardization.

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Solution

Abbott's diagnostic test menu helps hospitals respond to changing patient needs by delivering fast, accurate results for critical conditions, ranging from cardiac events and diabetes to drug overdose.

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Impact

With upgraded and expanded immunoassay and clinical chemistry systems and testing, Auburn Community Hospital is better able to serve clinicians and patients.

Rapid fentanyl and oxycodone testing allows for quick, cost-effective results in the Emergency Department.

Improved cardiac rule-in and rule-out with Alinity i High-Sensitivity Troponin-I testing, especially for women and early presenters.

Fully standardized HbA1c testing through unified calibration and reporting, ensuring accurate, comparable results that help physicians better monitor diabetes management.

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About the Customer

Auburn Community Hospital is a 99-bed, not-for-profit facility servicing about 80,000 people in New York’s Finger Lakes region. As the region's only full-service hospital, their lab plays a central role in delivering fast, reliable diagnostic insights.

In our Customer's words

“It’s end-to-end. It’s integration. So we can add the latest test — the high-sensitive troponin, fentanyl. … If we had to send those tests out to a reference lab, it could take two days to get the results. It’s too late. So we’re able to support the needs of the community in the emergency room for those quick answers of rule in, rule out.”