Community hospitals want to offer their patients access to the latest technology – locally, so they don't have to travel to a bigger hospital in a distant town. Send-out testing is an option with low technical overhead, but it introduces a delay in receiving test results.
We recently sat down to talk with Kate Garman, Laboratory Supervisor/Manager at Smith County Memorial Hospital in Smith Center, Kansas to discuss firsthand the impact QIAstat-Dx syndromic testing has on healthcare in community hospitals.
About Smith County Memorial Hospital's in‑house lab
Smith County Memorial Hospital is part of a rural farming community in northwest Kansas, roughly 3.5 hours outside of Topeka and 4+ hours outside Kansas City. The community, rich in cultural history, takes pride in shared values.
The hospital sees patients of all ages and all circumstances.
The laboratory provides chemistry, hematology, coagulation, waived testing, molecular and blood banking. They were looking to "expand their capabilities, to offer their patients the testing they need so they don't have to travel and wait for their results". While cost was a consideration, they were most importantly looking for "ease of use with the instrumentation".
How did QIAstat-Dx measure up?
QIAstat-Dx simplifies infectious disease diagnostics so labs can get faster results for their patients. All that's needed are a patient sample, a QIAstat-Dx assay cartridge and the QIAstat-Dx Analyzer 2.0 – a small but powerful modular benchtop system that fits in any corner of the lab.
In Smith County Memorial Hospital's hands, QIAstat-Dx held up to its promise.
Simply add the sample and go
Less than a minute hands-on time, with all reagents already on board
~ One hour
What does QIAstat-Dx mean for patient care?
QIAstat-Dx syndromic testing uses sensitive multiplex RT-PCR technology to quickly and accurately identify a wide range of pathogens in a single sample. It provides quick, comprehensive answers that can help healthcare providers make swift patient management and treatment decisions.
Kate has seen this firsthand.
"QIAstat-Dx has been a very effective instrument that reliably delivers same-day results. This has enabled our healthcare providers to make accurate treatment decisions for our patients sooner – without waiting 72 hours for results from our reference laboratory, or requiring the patient to travel for testing."
"As a case in point, our facility recently admitted a two-month-old baby who was suffering from diarrhea and high fever. A stool sample was collected and tested with the QIAstat-Dx GI panel. Salmonella was identified and the baby was immediately treated. Had we not had the QIAstat-Dx, that sample would have been sent to our reference lab for stool culture. The reference lab results could have taken anywhere from 48-72 hours for the culturing alone, plus more time for the susceptibility testing."
The take home message: