INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Cyber security assaults are a fact of modern computing life, and the best strategic response will be to get IT systems into the public cloud
Karim Premji, from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Manx Baker, from Black Country Pathology Services, both talked about the rapid entry of samples into their operations, using Clinisys WinPath Auto-Reg. Baker said the network now receives GP work from the entire Black Country into the hub laboratory and uses just 19 staff (previously 30) to cover the 24/7 shift. The team is able to book all the samples in by midnight the same day, while also taking calls and dealing with work from the acute trust. How? Because a human can handle 48 orders per hour, while the Indexor can handle 357 using the WPE Auto- Reg functionality.
Data drives research – and changes lives
The day two agenda also covered some big topics, such as the latest on laboratory accreditation, with an update on UKAS ISO 15189:2022 from John Ringrow of UKAS, and cybersecurity, with Mark Dimock from NHS England talking about how to protect critical systems without restricting clinical teams. There were reflections on transfusion, with Dr Megan Rowley from the Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) scheme explaining how it is improving safety “bit by bit”, and antimicrobial resistance, with Dr Berit Muller-Pebody from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), talking about the latest five-year UK plan. But back on day one, delegates
heard some inspiring examples of why all this matters so much and how the data pathology systems generate are being used to save and improve lives. Fiona McRonald, National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) genomics programme manager, talked about the NDRS, which is the part of the NHS responsible for collecting, linking and quality assuring data on cancer, congenital anomalies, and rare diseases. The addition of genomic information to NDRS datasets is having a wide- ranging impact on research and NHS patient care. For example, she said NHS genomic laboratory data, collated by NDRS and linked to regional data on pollution, had contributed to a publication in Nature,1
between air pollution and lung cancer in non-smokers. Laboratory work on post- mortem human lung tissue and transgenic mice demonstrated that lung cells containing age-related mutations in the EGFR gene were susceptible to malignant transformation if they were exposed to inhaled PM2.5 particulates. National collection of germline genomic test data on cancer predisposition syndromes has also enabled the NDRS to support the NHS clinical and molecular genetics community to interpret genetic ‘variants
of uncertain significance’.2 By bringing
together data and intelligence from laboratories around the country, NDRS is helping scientists to determine the cancer risks associated with each specific genetic variant. This enables genetic counsellors to give definitive information to patients previously living with uncertain findings from their genetic test, so that these patients can make informed decisions about screening, risk-reducing surgery and family planning. Getting the required information from LIMS is not easy – and standardisation would help a lot. But McRonald said: “lives are being changed, and we are making a difference on the ground, and that is because of the data that are coming in from you guys in the laboratories.” Professor Sarah Coupland, George Holt Chair of Pathology at the University
Our business is the story of science
→ →
→
We are writers, editors and creatives focused on pathology & life sciences
Distilling complex diagnostic information into engaging content – across web, print, digital, social & broadcast
Trusted by the biggest names in the industry Let us do the same for you
For more information contact Jennie Ruth Wilde t
in which scientists
from the Francis Crick Institute were able to demonstrate an epidemiological link
WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM SEPTEMBER 2024
w in
e
+44(0)7799 412230
linkedin.com/in/jennie-ruth-wilde-8136b42/
jennie@carverwilde.com
www.carverwilde.com
Carver wilde
ad2.indd 11 View our work 24/05/2024 11:43
37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
