IMMMULITE® 2000
Consolidates Laboratory Workload
and Increases Efficiency

DPC's new high-throughput immunoassay analyzer, the IMMULITE 2000, has dramatically improved productivity and reduced costs at Tucson Medical Center Health Enterprises (TMCHE) Laboratory. As southern Arizona's largest clinical laboratory, TMCHE Laboratory services a 650-bed hospital, specialty clinic laboratories, and an outpatient reference laboratory in a market that is 85 percent managed care. With immunodiagnostic testing volumes exceeding 800 tests per day, improvements in productivity and workflow became critical to laboratory efficiency and overall patient care. An examination of immunodiagnostic analyzers was conducted to select a new system that would best satisfy the needs of TMCHE Laboratory and significantly improve productivity while controlling costs.

Aerial view of Tucson Medical Center Health Enterprises (TMCHE) Laboratory, southern Arizona's largest clinical laboratory. TMCHE has realized a significant increase in immunodiagnostic testing efficiency through workload consolidation on the IMMULITE® 2000.

This examination included a rigorous workflow efficiency study. The amount of medical technologist time necessary to process and test a given number of requests on the IMMULITE 2000 was calculated and compared to the amount of time required using various other new systems now on the market. The IMMULITE 2000 stood out clearly in this comparison. In a study involving two shifts and 382 samples, the IMMULITE 2000 saved the technologists approximately 4 hours per day, representing a labor savings of $19,000 per year. The IMMULITE 2000 met the needs of TMCHE Laboratory and surpassed the capability of any other system on the market. IMMULITE 2000 was selected as the primary immunoassay analyzer for TMCHE Laboratory. In combination with the benchtop IMMULITE® analyzer, the IMMULITE 2000 allowed significant testing efficiency through workload consolidation. In fact, 80 percent of the immunodiagnostic testing volume in TMCHE Laboratory is now being handled by the IMMULITE 2000 with its highly automated functions, leaving the smaller IMMULITE to run the lower volume tests. The IMMULITE's extensive menu also makes it the ideal backup analyzer to the IMMULITE 2000. The labor savings, along with other improvements in workflow efficiency and workload consolidation, have reduced overall turnaround time for immunodiagnostic testing by 30 percent.

Many features of the IMMULITE 2000 make it a good fit for today's busy clinical laboratory. For example, primary tube sampling virtually eliminates the need for time-consuming specimen pour-off activities. Of course, the throughput of up to 200 tests per hour, the autodilution and reflex testing capabilities, the continuous random access design and the bidirectional interface features all contribute to the "walk-away" nature of the instrument. These features, along with high quality and robust assays based on chemiluminescent technology, have made the IMMULITE 2000 a favorite among the medical technologists and laboratory management at TMCHE Laboratory.

Additional features of interest include the user-friendly Microsoft® Windows NT® environment; the tutorial program which includes animation, video, and voice instructions; and remote diagnostics programs made possible by modem access to service engineers. These features and others allow for easy yet thorough training of technologists, and result in the rapid integration of the analyzer into daily production. In addition, the design of the IMMULITE 2000 allows TMCHE Laboratory to easily incorporate immunodiagnostic testing into a laboratory automation system.

TMCHE Laboratory has experienced an immediate and significant cost savings associated with the use of the IMMULITE 2000. This fact, coupled with cost-per-reportable programs and matrix pricing, has resulted in a continued, unique shared-risk relationship between DPC and TMCHE Laboratory. This relationship was originally founded on the excellent performance record of DPC's IMMULITE analyzer, DPC's sensitive and robust chemiluminescent assays, and the DPC support staff. It continues with the advent of the IMMULITE 2000 and other improved products and services from DPC that directly benefit TMCHE Laboratory and the healthcare professionals and patients that the laboratory serves.