Using Biobanking software for compliance peace of mind
Nov 12

Using Biobanking software for compliance peace of mind

Two key challenges facing your lab or Biobank are quality and efficiency. You may introduce and follow a set of standard processes to address these. And, to be successful, everyone in your lab or Biobank must follow these processes too. These processes may form your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). You may have chosen them from your own best-practices or legislation such as the Human Tissue Act (HTA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Or you may have chosen to follow industry-standard best-practices such as those outlined by the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) or ISO. Whatever processes you decide to use to improve quality and efficiency, how do you know that everyone is following them? And, importantly, if they’re working? If you can’t answer this, you may want to think about using Biobanking software for compliance management and tracking.

Enforcing processes through your Biobanking software for compliance

Advanced Biobanking software allows you to map your workflows and processes into the system. And some Biobanking software already has key processes built-in as part of the standard ‘out-of-the-box’ system. Achiever Medical, for example, has workflows to manage your sample receipts, storage, processing, and shipping – amongst others.

By having your workflows in the system, the software can guide you step-by-step through each process. And you can’t move on until you’ve completed the current step. As a result, you are enforcing your rules, improving your data quality and ensuring consistency across your lab or Biobank.

In addition, it reduces the time you need to spend on software training meaning you can be using the system quickly.

Plus, if your Biobanking software has in-built processes, it allows you to take advantage of best-practice. And if they don’t quite match the way you do things, you can use the software’s configuration tools to change or add to them as you need.

But it’s not just about putting your processes into your Biobanking software

Being able to see whether you are complying with your own processes is one thing. But seeing whether they are helping you is critical. After all, you put these processes in place to help improve quality and efficiency. This is where real-time dashboards and reports are invaluable.

Just because you have replicated your processes into your Biobanking software does not mean they are going to drive quality and efficiency improvements. It’s possible to automate poor processes. And if all you’ve ended up doing is consistently performing an inefficient, poor quality process that’s not helping you meet your goals.

You should also review your processes regularly – this isn’t a one-off exercise. Everyone and everything around you is constantly changing. You need to make sure your processes adapt to continue to meet your, and your customers’, needs.

Sometimes it’s as much about what you don’t do – as what you do do!

Being able to see what you haven’t done is as important as being able to track what you have done. Confused? Can you see if a user has missed a step in a process?  And what does this mean for your quality?

Advanced Biobanking software, like Achiever Medical, can identify when critical information and steps have been missed. And automatically send email alerts, as well as escalation emails, to your team and managers. This data can be used to tighten your processes, as well as highlight training needs.

A final thought about Biobanking software for compliance peace of mind

By mapping your processes into your Biobanking software for compliance you can help to meet your SOPs, legislation and industry-standard best-practice. When done right, Biobanking software can help you make sure that:

  • Each step of the process is completed before starting the next
  • Data is captured at the right point in the process
  • Everyone is completing processes in the same way each time
  • Any missing data or non-conforming steps are highlighted quickly
  • You are constantly reviewing your processes to spot improvements.

However, your processes must be sound, otherwise the result is poor processes executed consistently.

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About The Author

Sharon Williams has over 20 years’ experience of helping businesses successfully implement Sample Management Software and CRM systems. Appreciating that the software will deliver significant business change and improvements, Sharon guides businesses to help optimise these benefits. This includes advice on how to obtain user buy-in, evaluating and redefining existing business processes and how to gain a better understanding of their data to provide invaluable insight and inform business decisions.