Clinical Flow Cytometry Standards Next Steps
Solomon, Harry (GE Healthcare)
Executive Summary: An ad hoc group interested in improving the efficiency of clinical flow cytometry lab operations through standards-based device and system integration met at the International Clinical Cytometry Society meeting in Portland on October 16, 2011. A follow-up meeting was held January 16, 2012, at the HL7 Standards meeting in San Antonio. The group has an email listserv (http://groups.google.com/group/clinicalflowstandards), but otherwise no formal organization (yet).
The clinical flow cytometry lab faces many challenges in managing its data and workflow. Currently, many labs have only paper orders and minimal patient history information, process tracking is done manually, devices have little or no network connection, analysis result files are stored by ad hoc methods in loosely managed file servers, and clinical reports provide no link to the evidence. The purpose of the group is to build consensus on standards for data and workflow that will facilitate development and deployment of interoperable equipment in the flow lab.
The attached document describes a 12-step program to be taken to advance the clinical flow cytometry standards agenda.
- Establish broad based standards committee
- ISAC, ICCS, and ESCCA join IHE
- ISAC, ICCS, and ESCCA join DICOM WG-26
- Base data standards development in ISAC Standards Committee
- Architectural white paper
- Clinical lab workflow descriptions
- Clinical metadata elements
- DICOM Encapsulated Document definitions
- IHE workflow profiles
- LOINC procedure codes
- IHE Connectathons
- IHE demonstration
Comments on this plan – and volunteers to make it happen – are most welcome!
Harry Solomon
Interoperability Architect, GE Healthcare
Co-chair, HL7 Imaging Integration WG / DICOM WG-20
540 W Northwest Hwy
Barrington, IL 60010
GE imagination at work