Background

George Mitri is the Respiratory Therapy Su-

pervisor and was kind enough to discuss the

use of Audit Ready Compliance (ARC) within

nine of labs at The University of Michigan.

The lights are always on at the Respirato-

ry department laboratories. George works in

Pediatric Respiratory, which consists of three

labs with six machines and they run anywhere

from 3,500 to 6,500 samples each month. An-

other department utilizing ARC is Adult Respi-

ratory. This department includes six labs with

10-12 machines, and they tend to run a little bit

higher number of samples each month.

The Need

At the University of Michigan they did things

the way most laboratories across the country

do, track compliance on paper. Using paper is

labor intensive for supervisors and managers

and can also lead to human errors when calcu-

lating method comparisons and lot changes.

Method comparisons are a CAP requirement

and an essential way to make sure testing done

within a laboratory is accurate. The compari-

sons confirm that machines are not veering in

one direction or another and ensure your labo-

ratory is compliant.

Eliminate Manual Calculations and PaperworkAudit Ready Compliance™

University of Michigan’s Respiratory department utilizes ARC in all of their nine Adult and Pediatric laboratories

“ARC is achieving my goal of handling so much paper and being on top of compliance very quickly.”

George Mitri Respiratory Therapy Supervisor University of Michigan

A SUCCESS STORY

The Old Way

On paper, a laboratory tech would record

what machines they are doing the comparison

testing on, then run two samples and manu-

ally calculate the difference between them to

ensure they are within an allowable range. If

they matched, then the testing passed, if not,

they needed to document this on paper and

track the remediation processes.

In addition to the complexity of some of the

calculations, the testing must be done a few

times a month, spaced out at regular intervals,

by each employee. Without a digital solution, it

was hard to track which employees were test-

ing at the correct times and completing the

necessary requirements.

As a supervisor of the laboratory, the process

of ensuring paper compliance quickly con-

sumed many hours of the day.

• Were all the checks being completed on

time each day, week, and month?

• Were techs taking time to validate their

calculations and who was checking for human

error?

Prior to the University becoming a customer

of Kapios, George was new to his current role

and explained, “I wasn’t really looking for a solu-

tion to all the paperwork. The first thing you

want to do when in a new position is just keep

things the way they are and then evaluate and

go from there”

After a few months in his new position, a peer

presented ARC to George, and he saw the soft-

ware as a solution to all the paper compliance

records in his laboratory. “I thought it would be

an excellent addition to University of Michigan’s

“ARC eliminated human error when calculating those differences.”

George Mitri Respiratory Therapy Supervisor University of Michigan

labs.”

The New Way

University of Michigan’s Adult and Pediatric

Respiratory Departments deployed ARC in their

nine laboratories over eight months ago.

“Currently we use it for documenting our

daily activity in the lab to meet regulation

requirements - some of which are the tempera-

ture controls, documenting that QC checks and

the calibrations are being done.”

George continued, “It makes it very easy for

method comparison samples to compare both

machines together. It does the calculations

for us. The techs run the same sample on two

machines and then it does the calculations for

both the machines and makes sure that they’re

within the guidance that we want it to be. ARC

eliminates human error when calculating those

differences.”

Implementation

The Pediatric Respiratory Laboratory did a

dual roll out.

“I rolled out ARC and I told my employees

you’re going to do both ARC and paperwork at

the same time at first so as to make sure that

everything is working properly and we’re not

missing anything,” George explained.

He continued, “I think I waited at least two

weeks to make sure that we had accomplished

90-100 percent compliance with ARC. After

that, I could just target specific individuals that

maybe needed some extra help. Then I said OK

– papers are gone now we are going 100 per-

cent digital.”

Support

When University of Michigan first rolled out

ARC the solution was only mobile. George’s

technologists expressed the need for both

desktop and mobile versions of the applica-

tion. Some of the data the techs were entering

contained large data sets and long numbers,

which can be difficult to enter onto tablets if

you aren’t used to doing it that way.

George came to Kapios with the request for a

desktop version.

“You know as a manager I think you have to

realize what works and what doesn’t. What’s

frustrating, what’s not, otherwise you will never

succeed. You’ll always have people complain-

ing and you have to figure out if it’s just being

lazy or is it actually a complaint that should be

handled.”

Working closely with George and his peers,

Kapios rolled out a desktop version, per Mich-

igan’s feedback, and that version is now avail-

able to all clients.

Kapios has a really unique business plan.

They are embedded in one of the nation’s

15th largest healthcare system. Because of

this, Kapios gets to work one-on-one with top

healthcare experts, and even customers to

really listen to the pain points within the indus-

try and partner with them to create innovative

solutions.

“I think within two weeks of using ARC ev-

erybody was good to go. And I think once we

got the product on the desktop it made it a lot

easier.”

Acceptance of a New Process

When ARC first came to The University of

Michigan, some of the employees were hesi-

tant.

“I think it just took a little bit of coaching

trying to figure out what works and what does

not work.”

Now, his employees all really like and enjoy

ARC. They have noticed the simplicity that

going digital has provided their laboratory.

When issues arise, George works with Kapios

support to work through them, “Kapios has pro-

vided great support and I think we’ve learned

some of the tricks and tips of using the solution

on our own.”

Success

Supervisors have seen immediate advantages

to going digital, such as the ability to track all

compliance from one convenient portal. A cen-

tralized database for compliance eliminates the

need to visit each laboratory to check whether

they were doing daily compliance checks.

George explained “Instead of walking around

each week or each day to try to see who did

what and when they did it – It is a very quick

immediate check. It has been so nice for me to

be able to verify what my techs are completing

each day.”

He has been able to see that method com-

parisons are being done with accuracy by each

employee without having to check in with each

employee or their calculations. “It is definitely a

lot easier for me as a manager to make sure that

everything is done. It’s a lot easier to give em-

ployees evaluation and feedback. I can tell how

many comparisons they did or didn’t do.”

Mr. Mitri also mentioned how ARC has allowed

him to take time off and come back without

having to manually go through each piece of

paper compliance. Instead, he can check at a

glance and handle any needs that need ad-

dressed, remotely, in real-time.

“Kapios has provided great support and I think we’ve learned some of the tricks and tips of the software using the solution on our own.”

George Mitri Respiratory Therapy Supervisor University of Michigan

Final Thoughts

ARC has allowed University of Michigan to

cut down on paperwork, and take their compli-

ance digital.

George said, “It has definitely cut down on

any mathematical errors. ARC has cut down on

the process of making sure everybody is doing

what they’re supposed to.”

University of Michigan Laboratories goal has

always been to maintain CAP standards. ARC

has allowed them to continue to achieve this

goal as well as improve upon the processes in

place.

“I like streamlining everything that I do be-

cause I don’t like spending time on things that

we shouldn’t spend time on. ARC is achieving

my goal of handling so much paper and being

on top of compliance very quickly. I can get a

snapshot of all of my machines very quickly and

then monitor each individual and what they’re

doing - very quickly.”

Don’t take our word for it, when asked what

advice George would give to other healthcare

systems and laboratories considering giving

ARC a try, “Definitely try it out. I think ARC is

definitely worth the effort and the time to go

digital. It will make your life a whole lot easier.”

What are you waiting for?

“I think ARC is worth the effort and the time to go digital. It will make your life a whole lot easier.”

George Mitri Respiratory Therapy Supervisor University of Michigan

About ARC

It’s a solution that was created in a labora-

tory just like yours, by people who really know

the pains of regulatory audit obligations. Audit

Ready Compliance (ARC) replaces paper logs in

clinical laboratories with tablets to track sched-

uled instrument activity and notifies technolo-

gists with a chain of alerts until a required task

is completed. ARC provides a centralized data-

base to record and review equipment status,

access records and run audit reports, all in

real-time.

Learn more at https://www.kapioshealth.com

Schedule a Demo

To schedule a demo call 567-661-0772 or

email us at info@kapioshealth.com. We have

clinical engineers to help consult peer to peer

as well.

At Kapios, we create technology because it is our passion. When we saw the far-too-many obstacles standing in the way of our healthcare providers, we knew we could help. We began to share our passion and create solutions to reduce the challenges in our healthcare community. We are using our technological capabilities to allow them to do what they do best.

In the end, we hope our love for technology will make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.

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