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Meditech ISBT


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I asked Cliff to start this sub-thread in the ISBT discussion, hoping that some Meditech users could get their heads together.

I am increasingly frustrated with this whole thing.

I have compiled a list of the Meditech DTSs that relate to ISBT-128 (these are for Magic, I don't know about Client Server)

DTSs: 10697, 10726, 10727, 12619, 13912,13936, 13937.

And the Knowledge Base Articles are: 24250 and 24454.

Are there other out there?

My number one issue right now is: I need to be able to print ISBT labels for pooled products. I want to be able to print only the quadrant with the unit number/facility ID. Meditech is telling me I will not be able to do this with the DigiTrax printer/software combination as it is now. Why would I even purchase this if I can't print what I need and will instead have to order custom labels with the unit numbers?

I am not sure if I can build a label like this myself using Code 128... maybe. Meditech has no examples of ISBT labels.

Has anyone out there solved these problems?

I seem to be able to scan everything OK, so would be willing to help if someone needs assistance with that.

Thanks,

Linda Frederick

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Linda:

I suggest you contact either the ATAG chair SUe Grabowski ( sgrabows@giveblood.org or Pat Distler the Tech. Dir of ICCBBA ( pat.distler@iccbba.org). Digi-Trax's Hema Trax that is interfaced with Magic and Client Server from Mediech does have the ability to print DINs and Facility, but no one has asked just to print facility and we do not have a label that size. We have a 2 X 3.2434 to print Facility and Product and a 4 X 4 full Face Label...by the way there is no ISBT128 Facility bar code. So not quite sure we understand problem. You can call our head of software development if you wish, Larry Cullen at 847-610-7454.

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I would like to be able to print out a 'string' of consecutive unit number labels for pooled products. I want to be able to print these in advance. This is why I'd like to be able to print just that quadrant.

The reason I want to print these is for the night shift, etc. If they are pooling PLT in the middle of the night, I want it to be as easy as possible for them to label the units. I can order the product name labels and blood type labels from Shamrock or UAL, but I'd rather not have to order custom unit number labels.

There is not an easy way to print the full face label when you have completed the pooling process. You must go into another routine, select the correct label type, etc. This might seem easy, but again for night shift generalist techs, it is not.

I understand that the 'facility bar code' is really part of the unit number now and that there is a different place for the 'further processed by' facility, without a bar code.

Is the 2 X 3.2434 Facility and Product label the bottom half of the full label? Meditech told me this was the left half.

I know that I am not the only facility that has these questions. (And I don't think these problems/questions are unique to just the Meditech system either.)

Thanks for all of your assistance.

Linda Frederick

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Hi Linda:

We would be happy to clear all this up for you. If you give me your contact information we can send a complete set of ISBT128 sample labels and information on labels, software and hardware. Hema Trax has the facility to print ISBT128 Donor Identification Numbers (DIN) aka Unit Numbers in any format you wish, single ply or piggyback, in strips or multi-bar code sets. You can contact me at rkriozere@digi-trax.com or by phone at 800-356-6126 X-106

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

We were told that the only way to be able to print ISBT labels interfaced to Meditech was to buy the $10,000 printer (we are also on Magic). We chose to cease aliquoting and pooling rather than purchase this for the 10 times per year we would need it. Digitrax has a standalone printer (as does another company whose name escapes me) but they are still quite expensive for the limited use we would have. We bought a 26 yr supply (minimum quantities) of the most common pre-printed irradiated labels for about $800 and are making do with that. We are not relabeling thawed FFP.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

anti,

We are not going to be purchasing a separate label printer. We will be using preprinted labels. See my reply to another string called "make aliquot routine".

Let me know your concerns. I'm also using "Magic", and I can't use the make aliquote routine as written for the "Magic" users.

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We are having issues with the apheresis products. I do not have a separate product for each product code. We usually add an A or B to the end of the unit number, but now that won't be able to scan. Does anyone know of a way to make unit numbers with the suffix A or B on the end and reprint a barcode? We don't plan on purchasing any other equipment. I have the same issue with autologous - we do have a separate product for this but when I try to put in the product codes, it alerts me that it is being used by another product. Any ideas???

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Angie,

I'm figuring you don't require help with Codabar seeing how this is a string called Meditech ISBT.

There has never been an actual product called "Autologous Packed Cells". We probably all created one however. Meditech allows the user to identify the autologous product by 1) blood type, and 2) reserved status of the product. You can also further identify the unit by the information entered in the "other" field at the bottom of the enter units routine.

If you want to have a separate "product" so you can continue to identify those products as autologous, here is how we handled it in our market. Our facility uses a "marker" to identify the product as autologous. We had our I/T card NPR program changed to include a total of three markers at the time of issue. The other facility wanted to continue to call the product autologous. We realized that ONLY autologous products will be received w/o being leukoreduced. Therefore, to the existing Codabar autologous packed cell, we added the ISBT 128 product code. When they receive this product, it will continue to call it an autologous packed cell.

Apheresed products all come with a separate ISBT 128 product code. Although it's a pain to go from about 10 products to 100+, they all need a separate barcode. We changed the name of the products:

apheresis leukoreduced platelet 1st container mnemonic:PLTLRA1

2nd container mnemonic:PLTLRA2

If you are NOT planning on printing barcode labels for your products, you could continue to use the products from Codabar and add all of the products under the ISBT 128 symbology. EVERY ISBT 128 PRODUCT NEEDS A SEPARATE BARCODE IF YOU PRINT PRODUCT LABELS BECAUSE HEMATRAX WILL ONLY RECOGNIZE THE FIRST ENTRY FOR THE ISBT 128 BARCODE.

However, all pheresed products will need to be a separate product in the Product Dictionary regardless because the DIN stays the same in ISBT 128. No suffixes allowed.

Hope this helps.

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I decided to create all the ISBT product codes rather than lump them together as we did with codabar. I suspect that in the future we will be glad we separated them as ISBT becomes the standard everything is built around. Disentangling past products would be a nightmare.

One additional comment about pheresis products always having separate product codes (1st & 2nd containers): our supplier says they could split a large pheresis plasma donation into 2 parts, but this would be done as ISBT divisions, not as separate product codes. So we had to be sure our system could scan in aliquots that were shipped to us. Pretty rare and some suppliers may not do this.

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Mabel,

Check with your blood supplier. Pheresed Plasma has separate product codes in ISBT 128. Check these codes out for example:

E4689 1st container

E4694 2nd

E4697 3rd

E4701 4th, etc.

They should be conforming to the ISBT 128 standards for naming products.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Magic users...

We've been live with ISBT for 2 months now. I've just entered my first split FFP units into inventory and have run into a problem. Meditech is automatically putting an A or B on the end of the unit number when I scan the product code. Its putting an A on the unit number for product code E0869VA0 and a B on the unit number for product code E0869VB0. Do you guys know if this is set up in the dictionary and how I can turn it off? Or is this supposed to happen? I just got everyone away from using A and B on the unit numbers to define products...now darn meditech is doing it for us. I'm fairly new here so I wasn't here when the dictionaries for ISBT were set up and our IT person is at a loss.

Thanks

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As far as I know Meditech chose to maintain the A & B etc. suffixes when it makes aliquots or when it imports them. It gets really messy if you need to modify them (make components) like thawing FFP or irradiating aliquots. They are supposed to be realeasing a DTS that helps with this problem. I will try to remember to post the number when I get to work tomorrow.

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We also had the issue with FFP slits, it would scan in, and attach A or B. But when I would try to issue the product it didn't scan correctly. Meditech saw it as "a or b". We are also doing on-line nursing transfusions (TAR) and when we tried to scan the product on the nursing side it didn't recognize the spits.

On the autologous units, we separated them out so we could charge for them even if not used. They are charged with $0.00, and we attach the autologous fee and unit charge at the T&S. If we go back to just using markers, then we won't be able to charge for the unit if they don't get it, or they could get charged double.

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You need for your IT department to use KBA 27704 to get your entered split units to display correctly (Part A, Part B, Part C) rather than have it add the A, B, C to the end of your unit number on your cards & Issue form. It will still display that way on your screen, but not when you print cards, labels and forms.

I work at a children's hospital so we deal with tons of parts and containers and then modify those parts and containers, and then further split some of those parts and containers. It can get pretty complicated, but believe it or not, my techs are actually finding the ISBT system easier to use than the Codabar.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...

:redface::redface:

Computype is the other company

There are other printers for Digi-Trax's HemaTrax that are usede with low volume printing, the "G" Series Zebra. This printer is low cost and you can get prices yb calling 800-356-6126 or contacting you Blood Bank management ssystem provider and asking for price on the Digi-Trax, HemaTrax small desk top "G" Series printer.

Richard

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  • 2 years later...

Anyone using scanning with their TAR Meditech 6.07? We are working on this and have the ability to scan patient's armband, blood type on the bag (ability to cross check bag type with patient type), and expiration date on the blood product. We have run into problems scanning the blood product unit number. Any thoughts/help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks, Kevin

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