January 2013 IN THIS ISSUe

bioMérieux Launches New Training Opportunities

Congratulations to the Memorial Hermann Lab Team on Prestigious Quality Award

The Microbiology Pathway: From Collection to Care™ and Healthcare Reform

Celerity and Synthesis of Clinical Data: One Laboratory’s Journey

Survey: The Microbiology Pathway

Events Calendar

bioMérieux

Newsletter

Operationalexcellence

Contains Cost & Streamlines TestingHouston-based Memorial Hermann Health Care System’s consolidated lab earns accolades

COMINg SOON: The BacT/aLeRT® 3D Select/SelectLINK® Online Training Course

bioMérieux Launches New Training Opportunities

The BacT/ALERT® 3D Select/SelectLINK® Online Training Course is designed with new users in mind. The course provides a comprehensive, hands-on, and interactive learning experience to guide participants in the operation of the BacT/ALERT® 3D Select and SelectLINK Systems. Practice of basic functions and troubleshooting exercises are relevant and encourage users to apply what they learn.

The course is fl exible, accessible, and self-paced. Users can access it from any computer with an Internet connection and complete the training and testing at any time over a two-week period. Self-pacing enables learners to conduct their training module-by-module, or complete it in a single session. More experienced can complete refresher training by visiting only those portions of the course that apply to your specifi c needs.

Course content includes:• Step-by-step instructions for many routine tasks• Short instructional videos• Built-in continuous improvement with self-evaluation exercises• Rating polls to measure the usefulness of the course P.A.C.E® credits are available to satisfy professional continuing education requirements.

Watch for the BacT/ALERT® 3D Select/SelectLINK® Online Training Course in early-2013. Visit www.biomerieux-usa.com for updates and more information.

bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

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Customer education Department un-veils classroom for pReVI® Isola Training

As a part of our ongoing efforts to improve and diversify bioMérieux’s educational offerings, the Customer Education Depart-ment now provides Durham, NC based training classes for the PREVI® Isola instru-ment. The new classroom includes built in lab stations, instruments for practice, an HD projector, and state-of-the art support and facilities to let the customer focus on comfortable, dynamic learning.

The newly developed PREVI Isola course provides the participant with a comprehen-sive learning experience in the confi gura-tion and operation of their new instrument. The hands-on practice with basic instru-ment functions, troubleshooting, and maintenance will help new users build confi dence in their ability to operate the instrument.

The key operator attending the training will utilize Adult Learning Principles obtained in class to effectively share newly acquired skills with their laboratory staff.

®

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bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

“The whole team here is thrilled to receive this important recognition from Memorial Hermann

for our work to improve quality.”

Memorial Hermann Health Care System (MHHS), a nine-hospital healthcare system based around Houston, Tex-

as recently awarded its laboratory team the Operational Award for Operating Excellence, a prestigious internal

award. MHHS is the largest hospital system in the Houston metro area with 129 locations that include physi-

cian offices and specialty care centers in addition to the core hospitals. The MHHS lab sees approximately 5.6

million tests per year and has 526 full-time employees. The healthcare system has been handing out the Oper-

ating Excellence award to various departments over the last several years in recognition of important achieve-

ments in operations, which encompasses cost-containment, management, process improvement and more. This

is the first time that the laboratory has received this award; a major accomplishment for the lab team and one

that is indicative of the importance of the laboratory within the healthcare system.

Congratulations to the Memorial Hermann Lab Team on Prestigious Quality Award

To earn this well-deserved recognition, the lab team at MHHS implemented a plan to create a consolidated laboratory in order to better contain costs and streamline testing for the entire healthcare system. Previously, each of the hospitals maintained a basic stat laboratory, but lab and hospital leadership realized that they could make significant improvements through consolidation.

Planning began with the formation of a steering committee in June 2011, with the structural planning for the new consolidated lab be-ginning in October 2011. As a result of their combined efforts, all of the general laboratory testing and the microbiology testing are now performed at the MHHS Consolidated Lab, which went live on June 22, 2012. The lab has already seen improvements in employee productivity and overall lab efficiency, and is already realizing cost savings as their cost per test has decreased significantly.

bioMérieux assisted the MHHS team by providing service, techni-cal and sales support related to the lab’s use of several pieces of bioMérieux instrumentation, including three VITEK® 2 XL units and BacT/ALERT 3D® for both blood culture and microbiology testing. In particular, bioMérieux assisted with the temporary move of lab instrumentation during the renovation process, then again helped to move instruments to their final places in the consolidated lab. Once the dust has settled on all of the recent changes stemming from the lab consolidation, the MHHS team plans on adding even more bioMérieux technology in the coming year.

“The whole team here is thrilled to receive this important recognition from Memorial Hermann for our work to improve quality,” said Sandra Ratliff, System Executive for Laboratory Services. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the buy-in and hard work of our entire team as well as the strong support from our friends at bioMérieux. Thank you!”

bioMérieux would like to congratulate Sandra and the rest of her team, including Microbiology Director Dr. Audrey Wanger and Micro-biology Manager Mary Jane Damashek. We applaud their hard work and commitment to quality improvement and look forward to many more years of partnership.

Displaying the Operational Award for Operational Excellence are (l. to r.) Mary Jane Damashek, Microbiology Manager; Andrea Phillips, Laboratory Manager; and Sandra Ratliff, System Executive Laboratory Services.

Diagnostic tests typically account for 5% of the total healthcare budget. Yet they impact an average of 70% of all clinical decisions. At those levels, even modest enhance-ments can generate a huge return on in-vestment, for example, by improving patient outcomes and reducing length-of-stay.

Meet Natalie, for example. She’s 4 years old, loves pizza and playing outdoors, and wants to be a veterinarian. She has no previous health issues, but presents with a fever and a large abscess on the left buttock. As her temperature rises, she’s scheduled for blood cultures and broad-spectrum therapy is issued. Her infection is later confi rmed, the pathogen identifi ed, and her fever drops. In a few days, Natalie is released from the hospital and back out-side enjoying the sunshine.

Hospitals see cases like these all the time, but there are factors in a lab’s operations that Natalie and her family never sees, ones that can signifi cantly impact her effective treatment and speedy release. Sample contamination, over-incubation, indetermi-nate results, and work-in-progress are some factors that can delay diagnosis, proper treatment, and a patient’s release.

The Microbiology Pathway is bioMérieux’s complete, patient-centric approach to micro-biology lab operations. The Pathway takes a holistic view of a lab’s People, Process and Technology to identify opportunities to improve productivity, minimize errors to improve quality, and support rapid clinical decisions by reducing turnaround time (TAT).

But The Microbiology Pathway is more than simple automation or making upgrades to existing technology. bioMérieux helps labs optimize their resources in ways that can impact and improve patient outcomes.

people

As with any organization, people are a microbiology lab’s best asset, but they are often fraught with wasted effort through re-work, excessive sample transport and ineffi cient staffi ng. To help maximize the utilization and strengths of each employee, The Microbiology Pathway matches the lab’s staff schedules and priorities against specimen volume patterns, to reduce manual tasks such as plate streaking and gram staining wherever possible.

For example, after a thorough examination of its lab operations, Dameron Hospital As-sociation in Stockton, CA found that its TAT for positive urine cultures was higher when the specimen was received at night—and it was clear that the lack of a night staff was delaying that result. Adding a second shift has signifi cantly reduced that TAT.1

“The Microbiology Pathway is bioMérieux’s complete, patient-centric approach to microbiology lab operations.”

bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

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For decades, microbiology labs relied solely on manual techniques that often made their work prone to errors,

particularly in acquiring a quality isolate. In more recent years, the industry has struggled to keep pace with a

workforce that’s aging and retiring more quickly than it’s growing – and all in the face of an increasing num-

ber of patients, testing demands, budget constraints, and new challenges associated with Healthcare Reform.

All too often, hospital and lab administrators are forced to tackle such challenges one-by-one based on prior-

ity or available resources.

PEO

PLE

PROCESS

TECH N OLO GY

INCREASEPRODUCTIVITY

RAPIDCLINICALDECISIONSUPPORT

REDUCEERRORS

1 Dameron: Case Study, 2012. Perspective by Richard Wong, CLS, MT (ASCP), Investment in Automation and Effi ciency Pays off for Small Hospital, Dameron Hospital Association, Stockton, CA2 Sunrise: Case Study, 2012. Perspective by Elaine Hinds MS, MT (ASCP), HIGH VOLUME REFERENCE LABORATORY IMPLEMENTS LEAN PRINCIPLES TO IMPROVE TURNAROUND-TIMES AND INCREASE CLINICIAN SATISFACTION, Sunrise Medical Lab, Hicksville, New York

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bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

process

The process of collecting, testing, and re-porting the results of a specimen can have hidden detours that cause ineffi ciency. To fi nd and eliminate them, The Microbiology Pathway analyzes a lab’s turnaround times, value streams, physical fl ow of specimens, and space utilization to improve:

• Interpretation• Reporting• Data management• Consultation with clinicians• Training and accreditation

For example, within six months of imple-menting its lab optimization principles in 2010, Sunrise Medical Lab in Hicksville, NY slashed its 3rd quartile TATs for positive urine cultures by more than 75 percent, by changing the time at which they were prepared and processed. With that simple change, the lab reduced the number of re-incubated and repeat cultures and the number of staff touches. Nine months later, the lab had shaved another three hours off TAT.2

Technology

Every lab has its own technology needs based on specimen volumes, and high volumes can create bottlenecks if its testing equipment can’t keep pace. bioMérieux conducts a brand-agnostic assessment of a lab’s existing instrumentation – from collection to care – to gauge unnecessary processing, over-processing, integration opportunities, and its capacity relative to specimen patterns. With its best-in-class solutions, bioMérieux helps labs:

• Achieve faster time to result• Implement automation where it’s

needed most• Improve information management• Enhance integration and connectivity

For example, when Grady Health Systems in Atlanta, GA looked to streamline its work-fl ow to handle required testing volume with limited microbiology staff hours, it incorpo-rated several of bioMérieux’s automated solutions—PREVI® Isola, PREVI® Color Gram, BacT/ALERT®, VITEK® 2, and Etest®.

The PREVI Color Gram helped the lab team improve the consistency and quality of its slides, and with PREVI Isola, they achieve clearer plate streaks and more colonies, and minimize the need for additional subcultures. This new technology saves 8 hours of staff time and a full day to get results to clinicians.3

Another fundamental element of The Micro-biology Pathway is Myla®, an innovative mi-crobiology middleware solution that creates an interface to consolidate microbial identi-fi cation and antibiotic susceptibility (ID/AST) test results, workfl ow optimization, informa-tion management, and reporting to further support rapid clinical decisions. For a closer look at bioMerieux’s best-in-class technology, see the June edition of CONNECTION.

Customers also enjoy an exceptional cus-tomer service team. In a 3rd-party market research study of ID/AST systems, funded by bioMérieux and two of its main competi-tors, bioMérieux was ranked fi rst in custom-er satisfaction in such criteria as timely and effective telephone troubleshooting, overall performance, timely service and compe-tency of on-site engineers.4

bioMérieux has a 50-year legacy of exper-tise and experience. Conducted by micro-biologists for microbiologists, bioMérieux has completed more than 70 assessments to help labs of all sizes learn that even the simplest adjustments in processes, physical

layout, and staff distribution can generate immediate and dramatic reduc-

tions in errors, work-in-prog-ress, and turnaround time

– all with related increases in quality, productivity, and performance. And that can go a long way in giving Natalie, or any other patient

who walks into the hospital, the best care possible.

“Every lab has its own technology needs based on specimen volumes, and high volumes can create bottlenecks if its testing equipment can’t keep pace.”

Isola, PREVI® immediate and dramatic reduc-tions in errors, work-in-prog-

ress, and turnaround time – all with related increases in quality, productivity, and performance. And that can go a long way in giving Natalie, or any other patient

who walks into the hospital, the best care possible.

3 Grady: Case Study, 2011. Perspectives by Tim Drake, Microbiology Lab Manager, New Technologies in the Microbiology Lab Help Improve Operational Effi ciencies, Grady Health Systems, Atlanta, GA4 Satisfaction results from 2012 IMV,Ltd ServiceTrak Clinical Diagnostics – ID/AST Systems. Survey resulted from non-biased 3rd party market research fi rm, funded by all participating manufacturers.

The Microbiology Pathway analyzes a lab’s turnaround times, value streams, physical fl ow of specimens, and space utilization.

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bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

With the U.S. Healthcare System Undergoing Fundamental and Dramatic Change, the “Microbiology Pathway: From Collection to Care” is more Critical than Ever

Information nation: Ultimately, bioMérieux is a provider of information. This information has a dramatic impact

on patient care. Faster and more accurate results can lead to better outcomes. While this has always been true,

new stringent performance metrics issued by the Joint Commission and CMS are providing a strong incentive

to hospitals to demonstrate that they are using information efficiency to accurately diagnose and treat their

patients. Under the new model, hospitals will be rewarded for reducing length-of-stay, administering appropri-

ate therapy, lowering readmission rates and other new standards. Suddenly, state of the art diagnostic tests

are more important than ever because they help hospitals achieve these performance metrics. The goals of the

microbiology lab have become top priorities for the hospital, making the micro lab critical to overall success.

bioMérieux plays a key role in working with our partners to achieve this success.

The growing Need For Diagnostics

Antibiotic susceptibility, superbugs and other natural forces are not the only dynamics that have drawn attention to the critical value of the microbiology lab. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has eliminated reimbursement for an expanding list of hospital-acquired condi-tions and, will begin penalizing providers for excessive readmissions. So hospitals must contain infections brought into the hospital as well as know what pathogens are being admitted with patients.

Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) and distributors are reinventing themselves by scrutinizing patient data concerning utilization patterns and clinical variation.

Purchasing decisions are no longer driven by price alone, but rather through collabora-tive discussions with physician and nursing leadership about care quality and outcomes.All of this is driven by the U.S. healthcare reform and economic stimulus legislation, as well as changes within industry itself. Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), retail walk-in clinics, and risk-based payment models are the latest attempts decrease the spiraling costs, develop effi ciencies, and improve outcomes for the country’s large aging and obese populations.

Innovative vendors will thrive in this new market by showing providers, GPOs, and distributors how their solutions reduce waste, enhance effi ciencies and improve the quality of care. Vendors for all types

of products and services used in hospitals are repositioning their products to demon-strate that they provide this information. But who can possibly make a better case than diagnostic manufacturers that their products and solutions can reduce errors and inef-fi ciency, save precious time for critically ill patients, and provide clinicians with the best possible information when making treat-ment decisions?

Healthcare Reform’s Ripple effect

The economic stimulus legislation, passed in 2009, and the healthcare reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, approved a year later, included mas-sive new programs and regulations that are already impacting healthcare organizations.

Although the aims of the legislation are to improve patient safety and care quality, the most signifi cant thrust of the law is to reduce the country’s spiraling healthcare costs. Healthcare expenditures today are 89-times greater than they were in 1960 and nearly doubled in the last decade. In 2010, commercial health insurance

“In 2010, commercial health insurance premiums for a family of four climbed to $13,557 and could reach as high as $21,015 by 2015.”1

premiums for a family of four climbed to $13,557 and could reach as high as $21,015 by 2015.1

To stem these costs, CMS is reducing pay-ments to insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage plans and decelerating reimbursements to hospitals. Productivity gains from increased effi ciency and im-proved clinical performance are supposed to mitigate the effects of the reduced reimbursement, but will nonetheless require budget cuts across the industry. One culprit behind cost escalation is variation in prac-tice, which is often attributed to misdiag-noses, increased length of stay (LOS), and ineffective therapies.

Providers are addressing this clinical varia-tion with health information technology tools, namely electronic health record (EHRs). The economic stimulus law in-cluded the $787-billion Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which earmarked $19 billion specifi cally for EHR and complimentary sys-tems. The more robust EHR systems offer advanced evidence-based decision support tools and automated alerts to remind pro-viders of recommended clinical protocols. Moreover, if physicians have not attested that they are “meaningful users” of EHRs by 2015, they face a 1 percent reduction to their Medicare payments, a penalty that will increase an additional percentage point annually until 5 percent.2

As vendors, it is crucial to understand how the stimulus and healthcare reform legisla-tion is impacting providers, namely EHR im-plementation and the Medicare reimburse-ment reduction, which is forcing budget cuts industry wide. The solution for the nimble vendor is to demonstrate that their solutions will assist with providers’ expense and waste reduction initiatives and help them align with the new standards.

The New player: accountable Care Organizations

The most far-reaching manifestation of the economic stimulus and healthcare reform laws is the proliferation of Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH), Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and risk-based pay-ment models.

The reform legislation emphasizes the importance of prevention and continuity of care through its increased payments to pri-mary care physicians and no-cost Medicare annual wellness visits. Primary care practices are establishing PCMHs, an operational structure focused around managing patients with high-cost chronic diseases such as dia-betes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, and asthma.

Accountable Care Organizations are a natural extension of PCMHs. The clinically integrated groups, made up of hospitals and their owned, or independent, clinics, follow the successful models of top-performing IDNs such as Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, Advocate Health Care, and the Cleve-land Clinic. Like PCMHs, the organizations concentrate on managing patients along the continuum of care, especially those with costly chronic illnesses.

A foremost goal of ACOs is to reduce hos-pital admissions and readmissions. During care transitions, such as hospital discharge, patients receive appropriate follow-up home visits or phone calls from an ACO-employed nurse or medical assistant. These ACOs rely on clinical and health information system

integration between the hospital and out-patient offi ces to ensure care coordination and quality health metrics are tracked and achieved.

Although commercial health insurers are creating ACO programs, the most well-known initiative is from CMS, called the Shared Savings Program. As of July, there

were 154 ACOs participating in Shared Savings. The program rewards designated ACOs by allowing them to share in the cost-reduction savings from the fi rst dollar after a 2 percent minimum savings rate (MSR) is achieved.3 Savings is defi ned when an ACO’s average per capita Medicare expenditures are less than a CMS-established benchmark.

a New World With a Bright Future

bioMérieux products and solutions are key to demonstrating faster and better care and reduced LOS and readmissions and. We can help ACO succeed in meeting quality metrics through accurate diagnoses, better disease management, increased patient sat-isfaction, or how the products reduce costs by targeting more effective therapies faster.

The value of diagnostics has long been overlooked, but this is about to change. The future is bright and the role for bioMérieux is critical. In future issues of Connections, we will be featuring specifi c examples of how we are helping clients thrive in this new healthcare landscape, so stay tuned!

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bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

“If physicians have not attested that they are “meaningful us-ers” of EHRs by 2015, they face a 1 percent reduction to their Medicare payments, a penalty that will increase an additional percentage point annually until 5 percent.”2

1 Swan M., Endgame: Bursting of the U.S. Healthcare Bubble; Kaiser Family Foundation, MedTrend, Inc. Analysis, Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2010.2 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, EHR (Electronic Health Record) Tip Sheet, cms.gov, 2010.3 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Shared Savings Program, cms.gov.

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Celerity and Synthesis of Clinical Data: One Laboratory’s Journey

bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

By Joel E. Mortensen, PhD., Professor, Director, Diagnostic Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

The Microbiology laboratories at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital were undergoing a period of great change. The

arrival of a new lab manager followed by a new Laboratory director, along with recent reorganizations the en-

tire clinical laboratories, resulted in the need for a comprehensive evaluation of how Microbiology was orga-

nized and how they worked together with clinicians. The new leadership immediately set things in motion to

ensure that all labs were working as efficiently as possible in order to help clinicians guide therapies faster.

An early step was to change the name of the department to better represent the scope of our service and to indicate a new begin-ning; we are now known as the Diagnostic Infectious Diseases Testing Laboratory. Ultimately we combined all personnel into one cost center and started daily Laboratory rounds. Our next respon-sibility was to begin identifying major issues or areas for potential improvement. It was clear that we needed to continue to work to improve testing turn-around times and provide rapid reporting for clinicians. Outpatient offi ces make up 60 -70% of business and most specimens arrive in the Laboratory between 7 to 11:00 p.m. Our out-patient offi ces always want results by next morning when-ever possible. Add to this that to inpatient workload and we were performing approximately 150,000 tests per year. This volume has grown to nearly 350,000 tests.

In order to meet this demand, we utilized LEAN principles in the microbiology Laboratory to streamline our operation. LEAN is a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste (non-val-ue-added activities) and standardizing practice through continuous improvement. An important step was developing Antibiotic Suscep-tibility Testing Algorithms.

We set some core goals for AST improvement:• Don’t duplicate systems; streamline• Focus technologists on tasks that utilize their training/expertise• Get accurate results out as soon as possible• It is not LEAN to be wrong – spend the time and money where

needed!• Use automation when possible and technically sound• Have fl exibility in antimicrobial battery – stay connected to the

pharmacy and our clinicians!

Susceptibility Testing Algorithm: AFTERNonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli CF Pseudomonas – mucoid and non

Fastidious Organisms Haemophilus Streptococcus pneunoniae CorynebacteriumFastidious or hemolytic streptococci

Pseudomonas aeruginosaStaphylococci (ORSA)EnterococciEnteric Gram-negative bacilli

ESBLVREVISAVRSA

Insufi cient growth

VITEK® 2>98% complete

>95% of all testing

Etest®

Susceptibility Testing Algorithm: BEFORE

Kirby Bauer

Routine EntericRoutine staphylococciHaemophilus spp.

VITEK® 2

Sterile sites GNR StaphylococciMucoid Pseudomonas

Etest®

S. pneumoniaeFastidious Strep

Microscan, Manual“Back-up” VRE Other

Previously we began using Kirby Bauer testing and commercial broth dilution panels along with a VITEK® 2 system. We found that the VITEK 2 made the best choice as a mail stream analyzer, which allowed us to eliminate the need for the Kirby Bauer and the com-mercial MIC panels altogether. This single step resulted in clearing up physical space in the Laboratory, reduced ordering, reduced stor-age, less Quality Control, streamlined training and profi ciency and more. Now we utilize only the VITEK 2 and Etest® for susceptibility testing, saving us time.

Another key improvement was adding a technologist to the second shift to help read the VITEK 2 results. While the VITEK 2 produced results quickly, we realized that it did little good without a technolo-gist to ensure the quality of the results and report them out.

These are but two examples of how streamlining the microbiology AST algorithm and staffi ng have produced tremendous results for our Laboratory. In addition, we have seen improvements in:• Staffi ng redistributed to new tasks and assays• Decreased quality control, profi ciency testing, competencies,

training• Improved morale• Elimination of inventory and ordering of discs and panels• Minimized suppliers/shipments• Increased freezer storage and technical bench space

We made these changes knowing that they would have an impact at our institution. Although there was not a lot evidence at the time, these type of laboratory improvements are translating directly into real clinical impact. In one study, the hospital saw an average variable cost savings of $1,750 per patient resulting largely from an average two-day decrease in length of stay per patient. They also saw a decrease in mean turn-around time for testing from 44.4 to 39.2 hours. Over a year, this represents over $4 million in savings in variable costs and these savings repeat annually.1

The process continues. The clinical microbiology laboratories are poised to see some of the greatest changes in the last 100 years. Technology will provide the potential for additional signifi cant clinical impact through increase effi ciency and the ability to speed up the time to results. For us, part of this is our commitment to continu-ous improvement. The other is investing in new and emerging technologies. We have invested in new technologies from bioMérieux including their Myla® middleware solution, mass spec-trometry system, and other system as well. But this is just the beginning of the revolution. By using automation intelligently and integrating our system through advanced computers and emerging technology, we will be able to more effi ciently use the expertise of our technologists and deliver test results more quickly than ever.

b ioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

p a g e 9

Dr. Joel Mortensen has over 25 years of experi-ence in Clinical Microbiology; he is widely pub-lished in microbiology, laboratory management and continuing education. Dr, Mortensen has given multiple presentations, published articles on “Lean” in the laboratory and servers as a Consultant in Clinical Microbiology and Labora-tory Processes.

1Barenfanger, J., et al. 1999. Clinical and Financial Benefi ts of Rapid Bacterial Identifi cation and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing J Clin Microbiol 37:1415-1418.

Over a year, this represents over $4 million in savings in variable costs and these savings repeat annually.1

Connection to LIS

Displayed on Workstation

VITEK® 2• Integration of ID and AST• AES intelligence• Same day results

BacT/ALERT® 3D• Blood cultures• Mycobacteria cultures

bioMérieux unveils exciting additions to the chromID™ product portfolio!

chromID™ MRSA Ref 43481 (20 plates) chromID™ S. aureus Ref 43371 (20 plates)

Original Principle• MRSA strains are indicated by green colored colo-

nies – resulting from alpha-glucuronidase producing colonies in the presence of an antibiotic, cefoxitin.

Original Principle• Direct identifi cation of S. aureus with green colonies

in 18-24 hours.• Validated for all human samples.

Greater Simplicity• Extremely easy-to-read• Ready-to-use medium• Specifi c chromogenic media for MRSA.

Greater Simplicity• Ready-to-use medium• Specifi c chromogenic media for staphylococci• Culture + isolation + identifi cation on the same medium.

Two Great Media in ONE Convenient Easy-to-Read Plate

chromID MRSA/S. aureus Ref 414524 (20 plates)

For more information on this product and other great chromID medias visit us at www.biomerieux-usa.com/chromid

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Do you think the “Microbiology Pathway: From Collection to Care” message helps to connect the priorities of the lab, clinicians and hospital management in a meaning-ful way that appeals to all three and helps them to understand that they all share a common goal: Fast and accurate diagno-sis, which leads to improved outcomes, decreased costs and LOS?

YES NO

If you selected “No,” please tell us why:

Please number the following goals in “The Microbiology Pathway: From Collection to Care” to refl ect your priorities: (1 being the most important and 8 being the least): Reduce Errors & Re-work Reduce TAT Reallocate Current FTE’s to High

Value Tasks Increase Productivity & Effi ciency Lab Automation Faster Defi nitive ID/AST Results for

Earlier Targeted Therapy Data Management & Informatics for

Micro Lab Decreased Length of Stay

What educational topics would you like to see more of presented in the 2013 Connection Newsletter? Workfl ow Optimization Improving Sample Quality Improving Rapid Clinical Decision

Support Healthcare Reform and the Impact

on the Lab Technical Product Updates

Which print resources do you currently reference for industry information? Medical Laboratory Observer CAP Today Modern Healthcare Advance for Medical Laboratory

Professionals Advance for Administration Local Newspapers National Newspapers (NY Times, US

Today, Wall Street Journal) Other

Which type of bioMérieux sponsored events would you like to attend in 2013: Round Table Dinner Discussion All Day Educational Seminar Webinar Interactive Product Workshop

Are you interested in participating in a Marketing Focus Group? YES NO

Blood

Urine

Sputum/Stool

Myla®Urine Isola

chromID™

Smart IncubatorSystem

BacT/ALERT®3D

Detection Collection Sample Prep Culture Identification Sensitivity Interpretation Reporting Decision

VIDAS® PCT

EasyQ®/ARGENE

VITEK MS™

®CO

Etest®

VITEK® 2 AES™

Blood

easyMAG®

VILINK®

VITEK® 2

Sputum/Stool

Color Gram Color Gram

CollectionThe Pathway Sample Prep Culture Identification | Sensitivity | Interpretation Reporting Care

PEO

PLE

PROCESS

TECH N OLO GY

INCREASEPRODUCTIVITY

RAPIDCLINICALDECISIONSUPPORT

REDUCEERRORS

PERFORMANCESOLUTIONS

The Microbiology pathway depicts bioMérieux’s complete

approach to improving efficiencies and enhancing

technology in microbiology labs of all sizes. For more

information, visit www.microbiologypathway.com or

contact your local sales representative.

Fax your completed survey to: (919) 479-3616 or visit www.biomerieux-usa.com/connection to complete online.

bioMér ieux Connect ion January 2013

* Pending U.S. FDA Clearance

*

2013 eVeNTS CALENDAR

bioMérieux Connection is published by bioMérieux, Inc., 100 Rodolphe Street, Durham, NC 27712. Please send address corrections and mailing list additions to info.biomerieux@biomerieux.com. For customer service, call toll free 800-682-2666. Please visit our website at www.biomerieux-usa.com. Please share your comments and suggestions with us through your local account manager or by emailing us at the address above. As always, we thank you for being a bioMérieux customer.

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Date event and Location

JAN

FEB

MAR

Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM),San Juan PR – Booth #1207

Mass Spectrometry Applications to the Clinical Lab (MSACL), San Diego, CA – Booth #2

First Coast Infectious Disease,St. Augustine, FL

N. California ASMPleasanton, CA

19-23

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