Automating Lifesaving Reports at Nationwide Children's Hospital
For the past 13 years, the Laboratory at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, has benefited enormously from a small piece of software found on the internet, software that has saved staff time, assured patient and management reports have run at the right time, on time, every time.
In 1997, the laboratory changed to a new Laboratory Information Ssystem, a new more modern LIS. For 10 years prior, we ran a system that required 24x7 computer operators to run jobs, print specimen labels, patient reports, microbiology and virology reports, blood bank reports. Our new system would eliminate the need for most of that, with many of the reports able to be scheduled and run unattended. Several reports, though, specifically reports microbiology reports concerning infectious disease, nosocomial reports, and basic epidemiological reports all had to be run manually, as did all of the blood bank reports.
These reports are incredibly important to the health and welfare of Children's Hospital's patients and doctors and need to be run on time, every time.
To enable proper execution of theses critical reports, I searched online for a product that would let me schedule tasks. I was NOT impressed with the Windows Task scheduler. I found Macro Scheduler at www.mjtnet.com. I'm not sure where, possibly through download.com, but I knew when I read about its many features that I had to try it. The free download showed me immediately that this was the product I'd been looking for. Since that first very inexpensive purchase we have painlessly upgraded several time, migrated to new hardware without incident, helped to save lab tech frustration, countless hours of system analyst time, and most importantly, innumerable lives. Every day, the epidemiology report that Macro scheduler initiates may potentially save a child's life.
In the many years that we have used MJT Net's Macro Scheduler, we've expanded its use, executing reports, renaming files, backing up data, zipping log files, restarting system interfaces, manipulating printers via their internal web server, even created a stand alone password reset application for the hospital's help desk to utilize. My next major project with Macro Scheduler will involve its graphics recognition capabilities to automate a tedious weekly interface wiretap reset.
At the end of nearly every user satisfaction survey I've ever taken, there is one common question - "Would you recommend this product to a friend?" Marcus hasn't asked me this question, but I can say without hesitation "Yes!" Not only would I recommend Macro Scheduler to a friend, but I have, many times. I frequently give presentations to the Sunquest Users Group (SUGInc.org) and Macro Scheduler is the basis for one of my presentations, "The Unschedulables" (http://lorencesing.com/SUG-XI,The_Unschedulables.zip).
In conclusion, Macro Scheduler from http://www.mjtnet.com/ hasn't just been a useful tool, it has been a lifesaver. Our Hospital's slogan is "When your child needs a Hospital, everything matters." Macro Scheduler is one of the small details that help us make that true.
Lorence sing, MT(ASCP)
LIS System Analyst
ChildLab Database Analyst
Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio