South Australian clinicians will be able to access the results of newborn screening sooner than ever before, thanks to an Australian-first initiative from SA Pathology.
SA Pathology’s Clinical Director of Genetics and Molecular Pathology, Dr Janice Fletcher, said from today, state-wide results will now be accessible electronically as soon as the testing is complete.
“In the past, clinicians would have to speak to the laboratory over the telephone or wait up to two weeks for the printed results of newborn screening,” Dr Fletcher said.
“Thanks to software improvements, the results can now be loaded electronically into our Laboratory Information Management System, ‘Millennium’.
“This means SA Health clinicians can instantly check the results via the Clinical Information System or their hospital’s Electronic Medical Record. Results requiring immediate attention will still be communicated directly to the requesting clinician.”
‘Newborn screening’ or the ‘heel prick test’ is performed around 48 hours after a baby is born and is used to detect more than 25 rare disorders including Cystic Fibrosis.
A midwife or nurse performs the test by pricking the baby’s heel and putting a few drops of blood onto filter paper which is then sent for testing at SA Pathology’s newborn screening laboratory at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH).
WCH Head of the Metabolic Clinic, Dr Drago Bratkovic, said having electronic access to the vital results will be an added bonus.
“Allowing all clinicians to have 24/7 access to the results of the newborn screening test will greatly assist in making a diagnosis for newborns who are severely unwell in the first few weeks of life,” Dr Bratkovic said.
“It will also help to avoid potentially unnecessary investigations and interventions.”
Doctors and midwives looking after babies born in private hospitals or at home can also access their results in electronic form or the currently available printed report.
In another Australian first, the results of a newborn’s hearing test will also be available through the laboratory system.
