Page 154 - HA Convention 2016 [Full Version]

HOSPITAL AUTHORITY CONVENTION 2016 Symposiums

S9.1 Adding Value to Our Systems 14:30 Convention Hall A

Quality Improvements by LEAN Processing in Pathology
Charlton C
Pathology Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong

Identifying waste and eliminating it from your processes is what LEAN is all about. Every NHS laboratory is faced with
tightening budgets. At the same time, we are expected to provide a high-quality service and to meet ever-challenging
targets. The Pathology Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has embraced the NHS vision to increase efficiency
through application of LEAN principles. By examining our processes carefully and reducing waste, it was possible to improve
efficiency and productivity within the laboratory, to improve the quality of our service and, ultimately, to have a positive impact
on the delivery of better and more timely patient care. As a result of our LEAN events we were able to (1) reduce journey
times; (2) declutter work areas removing all but the tools that are needed; (3) introduce smaller batches so that work is fed to
the laboratory for analysis at a manageable rate; and (4) identify standard work tasks for medical laboratory staff.

This enabled a more efficient way of working, and improved the quality and uniformity of each task. Each role is clearly
defined so everyone knows exactly what to do. It is our hope that we can continue to develop and improve our laboratory
processes through the systematic elimination of waste in all aspects of our work. LEAN principles have now become
ingrained in our thinking and they played a major role in the redesign of our new laboratory and will help to define our future.

S9.2 Adding Value to Our Systems 14:30 Convention Hall A

Wednesday, 4 May Advancing the Frontier of DNA Testing
Lo DYM
Department of Chemical Pathology and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong

There is much recent interest in the use of DNA in plasma for molecular diagnosis. We have pioneered the application of
plasma DNA testing for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). This technology is now available in over 90 countries and over
two million pregnant women have been tested. With an increase in use of NIPT, it has been discovered that abnormal NIPT
results can be caused not only by the fetus having a chromosomal abnormality, but also from maternal pathologies, especially
cancer. In this regard, we have recently developed a new technology that we have called “plasma DNA tissue mapping” which
would allow us to trace the tissue of origin of an aberration observed in plasma. For example, we have used plasma DNA
tissue mapping to trace the source of a genomic aberration seen in NIPT in a pregnant woman to B cells. This woman was
found to have follicular lymphoma, a result that was consistent with the results obtained using plasma DNA tissue mapping.
We anticipate that this technology would increase the spectrum of diagnostic applications of circulating nucleic acids.

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