They are

• The Retinoblastoma Genetic Screening Unit (RGSU) which is based at Barts and The London NHS Trust.
• Retinoblastoma is a rare eye cancer found in young children and often runs in families.
• Molecular genetics experts.
• A small, laboratory team led by Dr Zerrin Onadim.

They needed

• An information system to register and store details of all their patients.
• The ability to trace details of pathology samples such as blood, tumour and DNA extractions to the relevant patients.
• Data from legacy systems to be imported into the new system.
• An easy and intuitive method of searching for data.
• A range of dynamic reports offering the ability to track and prioritise the progress of referrals and to export case data to Mail Merge documents and spreadsheets.
• The ability to provide audit data to comply with the specifications required by their professional associations.

We provided

• 15 years of experience in the design and implementation of medical and research based software solutions
• A specification of the proposed system, with screenshots, feeding back the requirements of the RGSU in a form that they could visualize.
• Liaison with the RGSU at every stage of the design and implementation, harnessing their concerns and comments and providing regular progress updates.
• On-site installation of the new system database with subsequent training and friendly support.
• A short, illustrated and easy to read document on how to use the system which could also be referenced in their accreditation process

"Our unit provides an internationally renowned genetic screening service for retinoblastoma at Barts and The London NHS Trust. We needed software to enable us to record our patient information and to audit our sensitive service data, in this very specialist field of molecular genetics. Advent IT provided us with the software system we neeeded to store our patient data, query and report in a secure and trackable environment. They had no difficulty in interpreting our complex needs and provided us with a database with excellent menus and searching tools in a very user friendly interface. We found them so helpful and responsive that we have asked them to develop further modules for our database."

Dr Zerrin Onadim
Head of Retinoblastoma Genetic Screening Unit, Barts and The London NHS Trust

And the end result?

• The RGSU have a dependable patient registration system which is accessible from offices and laboratories and forms the backbone of their work.
• The team can search for data and add to it in the course of their work flow.
• They have reports at their fingertips to aid them with their research and to use in their professional write ups.
• Compliance with Clinical Pathology Accreditation (UK) Ltd (CPA) by providing records that contain an audit trail.
• A scalable system that will allow for future modifications and additions as new requirements arise or existing ones change.
• The RGSU have now commissioned an additional module so that they can trace all the reagents used in their molecular genetics investigations.