Advancing Laboratory Standards: Our Journey from Manual Verification to Autoverification in Clinical Diagnostics

Background and objective: Autoverification (AV) of test results in laboratory forms most important transformative step in enhancing efficiency, accuracy, workflow of the laboratory. Autoverification plays a critical role by providing framework for adapting emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning. The key milestones in this journey included development of customisable rule based systems, integration with LIS and alignment with quality standards for patient safety. Creating and validating these rules are most demanding steps for setting up an Autoverification system. This article traces journey of Autoverification from its inception to its current integration in daily operations in division of clinical biochemistry to enhance the reliability, efficiency of laboratory services, ultimately contributing to better patient outcomes. Methods: The current study was carried out based on analysing previous study results and national/international guidelines. Auto verification was enabled through a software (IM) which was obtained from Data Innovations and was customised based on our request to formulate rules according based on need. The simulation results obtained indicated that that the framework designed worked as expected. The Auto verification was performed using actual patient results. Results: Number of rules were created for validation. Our results showed that there was a gross reduction of manual verification and review rates after introduction of AV and number of inpatient results were evaluated based on delta check algorithms set. There was a gross reduction in the turnaround time of routine tests with improved accuracy contributing to the efficiency of the laboratory and improved customer satisfaction. Interpretation and conclusion: Designing rule based system is critical for successful AV. The AV system can halt the samples with abnormal results for manual verification aiding in enhanced patient safety and improved efficiency.