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Path: digifix!not-for-mail From: Conrad_Geiger@NeXT.COM (Conrad Geiger) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.announce Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Abbott Maestro for NEXTSTEP to Improve Laboratory Workflow Date: 30 Jul 1993 02:12:58 -0400 Organization: Next Announcements Lines: 104 Sender: sanguish@digifix.com Approved: sanguish@digifix.com Message-ID: <23ae5a$1p6@digifix.digifix.com> For Immediate Release Contact: Tracy Lumbert (708) 938-3895 Elissa Whiteman (312) 649-6907 Abbott Laboratories Introduces Abbott Maestro: Intelligent Workstation Designed to Improve Laboratory Workflow Abbott Park, IL, July 12, 1993 -- Abbott Laboratories today introduced the Abbott Maestro, a new intelligent workstation designed to improve workflow and productivity in the clinical laboratory. Abbott Maestro will be previewed, along with Abbott's new third generation Immunoassay analyzer, AxSYM, at the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting in New York City. Laboratory Productivity Improvements As laboratory managers seek to cut labor costs, they have often focused on automating the testing process. Yet other aspects of the laboratory operation are equally deserving of attention. The portion of the labor costs devoted to data recording and reporting (17 percent) is only slightly less than the time devoted to testing (21 percent). The need for productivity improvement in data recording and reporting has been widely recognized in the laboratory field. According to a survey of clinical laboratorians, the primary product of the laboratory is the accurate reporting of test results. The potential role of the intelligent workstation has also been recognized. Laboratorians surveyed believe that an intelligent workstation is needed to supplement the laboratory information system (LIS) and satellite labs, providing additional power and flexibility. By placing an intelligent terminal or personal computer between the analyzer and the LIS, laboratory data management is simplified. Withe the introduction of the Abbott Maestro, an "Intelligent Workstation" which manages information between laboratory instruments and the Laboratory Information System, Abbott Laboratories has brought automation and simplicity to data recording and reporting. "Abbott Maestro was designed using the most advanced software technologies, "said Miles White, vice president, diagnostic systems and operations. "These technologies will reduce the time laboratorians spend on recording, reporting and sending reports to physicians by reducing the time and effort required from the moment samples are received to the time results are reported back to the physician." Frequently, results must be transcribed by hand, then transferred manually either to the LIS or to the final report. With the Abbott Maestro, this step is completely eliminated. Abbott Maestro will improve the collection and handling of information by interfacing up to eight Abbott analyzers which can transmit their output directly to the workstation. Reports in any format desired can then be generated directly by Abbott Maestro. Alternatively, the date can be transferred to the LIS and combined with data from other types of instruments to be generated into a single laboratory report. "Abbott Maestro will provide laboratories with the capability to make important decisions faster by providing them with easy access to real-time quality control, patient demographics and patient history," added White. "By allowing the Integration of up to eight analyzers including AxSYM, IMx, TDx, TDxFLx, CELL DYN 3000 and Abbott Spectrum to one system, Abbott Maestro offers laboratories a total system approach to testing and reporting patient results." Abbott Maestro's capabilities will be expanded in the future with additional interfaces, including other manufacturers' clinical chemistry instruments. Abbott Maestro also assists in regulatory compliance by eliminating the need for archiving information that currently exists only on paper. All the required data is stored electronically by Abbott Maestro. In addition, Abbott Maestro incorporates a modem that further enhances laboratory workflow by allowing data and instructions to be transmitted over telephone lines to and from remote sites. Wherever satellite laboratories are located, their results are instantly available to the main laboratory. Similarly, main laboratory results can be printed out at remote sites, including satellite laboratories, emergency rooms and intensive care units. This eliminates the need to messenger or telephone results to remote users. Abbott Laboratories is a worldwide manufacturer of health care products employing 49,000 people. In 1992, company sales and net earnings were $7.9 billion and $1.2 billion respectively, with earnings per share of $1.47.
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