MedLIS Elevating Standards

The MedLIS project has been progressing for a number of years and represents a forward-thinking safeguarding approach laboratory data to and supporting clinical workflows.  Storing laboratory test results in one place where healthcare providers across Ireland can have 24 hour access to up to date lab data provides significant long term benefits for clinicians and patients alike.

First Site Go-Live - a look back

While this has been an ongoing project for a number of years, challenged with delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2021 cyber attack on the HSE, MedLIS went live at its first site in Beaumont Hospital on 17th August 2024.  This included the laboratory solutions (PathNet), Order Comms across the full campus, Bridge Specimen Collection for bedside phlebotomy, as well as interfaces to various other national systems. Beaumont Hospital users have now fully embraced the move to a robust, stable and fully supported LIMS.

The Go-Live went very smoothly, considering the huge scope of the transition - an historic moment for all those past and present who have worked so hard on this project. The staff in Beaumont enthusiastically took up the challenge by fully embracing the training supplied to them to make it a success. 

Beaumont had a team of superusers on hand called Yellow Bees to support their staff and extra help was drafted when needed from the MedLIS National Project Team (NPT) to support users, in the Emergency Department in particular.  The NPT also manned Support Hotlines in the Command Centre 24/7 during this period. This team remained on-site in Beaumont for the 2-week Early Live Support event during and after the Go-Live.  

Benefits of MedLIS in Beaumont

The implementation of MedLIS in Beaumont has already seen several benefits: 

• The system is stable and efficient, standardises laboratory procedures and ensures consistent and high quality service delivery. 
• Downtime has been minimal, with little disruption to service (the previous Beaumont LIMS (BHIS) downtime was >10 hours/month). This has now reduced to <2 hours/month with the MedLIS platform, with system uptime availability >99.99%. 
• Automatic verification of test results that fall within ‘normal’ reference ranges was <5% on BHIS.  MedLIS has increased this to >50%.
• Significant staff changes amongst users with little impact (e.g. NCHD rotations).

Since Go-Live, support has been taken over by the Oracle Managed Support Service and the MedLIS National Support Office who continue to work closely with Beaumont colleagues to define and refine the change management and support pathways going forward – all learning is being applied for implementation on the next sites.

The Laboratory Programme now continues to progress at pace, aiming to deploy the system in multiple hospitals across the country. This plan will require the National Project Team with their Oracle associates to employ a different, more agile approach.  Currently the team are in the planning phase for this new approach with the official Project Initiation starting in mid-February 2025. First sites formal engagement is planned in March 2025.  The NPT has already increased their team in recent months and expect to continue through 2025 to facilitate this ambitious plan.

The next sites due to deploy the system include Our Lady of Lourdes, Drogheda and Cavan General Hospital by the end of 2025 followed by St Luke’s Hospital Rathgar and the Regional Midland Hospitals in Tullamore, Portlaoise, and Mullingar.