Sunquest vs Wyndgate

[cmiller]

We currently have SoftBank & SoftLab/Mic. The decision has been made to change computer systems. The lab system is going to be Quarda Med's QCPR. A decision has not be made about Blood Bank. We are hoping to set up demos and site visists for Sunquest and Wyndgate.

I am interested in any feedback on these 2 systems. Likes, dislikes about the system or functionality? Ease of use? For anyone that has recently set up either system - what were some questions you wished you had asked before going live? How are the statistical reports for the systems? Any other information about either system would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[PamD]

We just upgraded to Sunquest 6.3. I can't really reccommend it.

1. Sunquest still hasn't fully implemented ISBT. If you make alliquots, you can't use the ISBT convention and must create a "slash unit."

2. Sunquest still is not able to produce machine readable labels for alliquots or modified products. You must use a stand alone system. That's another separate process for your staff, and one more place you can make an FDA reportable error.

3. If you'd like to produce different versions of a unit tag for crossmatched and uncrossmatched products, Sunquest can't handle that either.

4. The process to issue uncrossmatched blood is so lengthy on Sunquest, we do it on paper, then enter data in the computer after the fact.

5. The data that feeds to the patient history file from results entry is hard coded, so if you want to include other tests, you must enter them manually.

6. The system is so slow, that when our techs are working very rapidly on an emergency, the terminal locks up. The official answer to that problem is to work slower.

7. The font on the screens is very small, but at least half of the screen is unused. I guess no one told the good people at Sunquest that the average age of a tech is 50+.

8. The number of QA failures that must be over ridden is increased. They are frequent, numerous, and don't seem to add much to safety.

[adiescast]

Ditto on Sunquest. In addition to the things mentioned, I cannot get decent statisics on our blood usage. It does not handle our multiple hospital situation well. It is too easy to stop the processor or prevent data collection.

Would you mind sharing the reasons for leaving Soft? We are looking at vendors in the hopes of replacing Sunquest and Soft is one of the ones we will be looking at.

Thanks!

[PamD]

I'd also like to know why you're leaving Soft. We intend to vote with out feet in the near future, and Soft is on our short list.

[cmiller]

It is not our choice to leave Soft. We really like it.

The decision was made by Administration b/c we are part of a multi-hospital system (3 small hospitals) and they want to "standardize" across the system, bottom line is bottom dollar! We currently have Quadra Med as our HIS (Affinity - which we will also be switching) so they wanted to have an "integrated" system and decided to get Quarda Med's new HIS and also the QCPR lab module. (Our VP of the IT department is in fact the person that sold us Affinity less than 3 years ago...draw whatever conclusion you may.)

So people that have no idea what is done in the lab/blood bank, let alone know what functionality we need with a system have made the decision that we will change computer systems - across the board at all 3 facilities...yeah, I'm a little upset over this decision. :mad: We will have been Live with Soft for 3 years in Septemer!

We really like SoftLab. It is very customizeable over all. The few problems/issues we have had have been due to initial setup and not the best implementation team from Soft. They do have great support which cost $$, but is worth it.

I guess we will get what we pay for!

[bmarotto]

It sounds like you need a standalone Blood Bank system so why not stay with Softbank for that? We are a Sunquest site that switched our Blood Bank to Softbank last year. The previous posters pretty much summarize why we made that decision. I was not aware that Sunquest even offered Blood Bank as a standalone module, but I would not recommend it. We are very pleased with Softbank.

[cmiller]

Like I said, its not my decision to leave Soft. They won't let us keep SoftBank, b/c SoftLab has to "run in the background" and they won't pay for the support, etc.

We really like SoftBank and I am very upset that we are being forced to switch systems b/c we don't have any choice in the matter.

[bmarotto]

Do you have SoftDonor as well? When we were looking at BB systems, Wyndgate said since we were a Transfusion only site we had to use McKesson Horizon Blood Bank which is the Wyndgate system branded with McKesson's name. The system is a good system but the cost and support was more than Soft. If you can deal with Wyndgate directly you may do better. Good luck.

[Michaele]

We are in the process of installing Safetrace Tx from Wyndgate. We haven't went live with it. We've never had a system before, we have used a paper system for years. I think when we get it up and running it will be nice, there are some good features. The things I've noticed early on that I haven't been all that thrilled with:::::

1. It's a windows based program, which SHOULD be a good thing right? I sometimes feel like I'm backing in and out of windows all the time. Or there are times that I don't have the 'proper' window open, so I can't perform the function that I want to. So I have to back out, open the window, go back to where I was-and begin again. It doesn't seem like there is an easy work flow. But, there again, I'm on a paper system now which is very straightforward and to the point

2. The actual process to get our orders from our LIS, Orchard Harvest system, to Safetrace to perform testing is a PAIN IN THE ........

3. I'm not thrilled with the QC files--in fact I'm going to continue documenting daily QC on paper until I see a satisfactory upgrade.

4. Inventory--I don't plan on keeping track of my reagent inventory in Safetrace either. We are a small hospital, so that isn't a problem for us. The product inventory is really very good though.

Now, the good stuff I've seen:

5. Safetrace is pretty good with ISBT, even though we are still codabar. I've been testing ISBT, and the labels that print are good quality.

4. Issuing uncrossed isn't that difficult.

5. Patient info -- You can quickly see (on one screen) if pt has antibodies, special needs, previous transfusion rxns, if any units have been issued to the patient, if patient has a current specimen, etc.

We haven't gone live yet, so I may change my opinion then! I'll let you know............

[cmiller]

"Do you have SoftDonor as well? When we were looking at BB systems, Wyndgate said since we were a Transfusion only site we had to use McKesson Horizon Blood Bank which is the Wyndgate system branded with McKesson's name. The system is a good system but the cost and support was more than Soft. If you can deal with Wyndgate directly you may do better. Good luck."

We do not have SoftDonor.

I haven't seen any numbers on the support of any of the systems we are looking at, but I do know that we have had great support from Soft and I have been told it is expensive.

Its not like we have a lot of choices for a BB system. The only ones I have been able to find are:

SoftBank

Sunquest

Wyndgate

Mekesson Horizon (which you say is Wyndgate)

Psyche SBB

I guess there aren't very many companies willing to go through all the FDA Regs to do a BB system...

Thanks for the information.

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[tbostock]

Not a big fan of Sunquest for all of the reasons stated above, the most annoying of which is the endless amounts of QA failures, which repeat each time you reopen that patient. So you're trying to answer a QA failure that another tech did days ago...not cool.

It's also very inflexible. The good parts: almost NEVER down, some of the reports are very good, and the Blood Bank technical staff are usually very helpful and knowledgable.

[labgirl153]

I'd like to recommend Softbank II to the facility where I now work, but fear it will fall on deaf ears. Ours is a fair-sized facility that also keeps inventory, performs all immunohematology testing for and couriers to 3 other facilities in the same system. Also, it links occasionally to other hospitals outside the system to swap blood products for greater efficiency. Currently my facility uses Cerner lab-wide. Have used Cerner classic around the country off and on for years and hate it. It's the worst software for blood bank I've ever worked with and I've worked with plenty. In order to get a thorough patient history with our system, one must use functions BBQ, branch to PTC, then to OID or PUI and THEN to get a diagnosis, branch to PAR. THEN, to RIA for results and THEN to SRE to result testing, and on and on and on. The rules are strict Cerner is unforgiving and branching doesn't always work or bring patient info along with it. Plus, we print a worksheet for everything, make copies of half the work we generate and have more file cabinets filled with useless paperwork than I've ever seen in a mid-sized transfusion service. It's exhausting and counter-productive, but their crew has been there for 20-30 years and they are "in love" with their paperwork (why bother with a computer then?). We have a back-up system on a small PC in the event of a cerner crash but they don't trust it either. Wonder if Softbank II can run "atop" Cerner and interface with the other Cerner classic facilities we are linked to. And please, don't suggest C. Millennium - were I a CEO would have any Cerner rep who walks in promptly escorted off the premises - by an armed guard.