Clinic: Wunschbaby Institut Feichtinger Baden
Country: Austria
Name: Christine Börger
Position: Embryologist
Matcher customer since: 2020
Background
We are a cooperation of three IVF clinics, and our location in Vienna is the largest. They started using Matcher as the test clinic for the system, and as they really liked working with it, we decided we wanted to install it into the Baden clinic.
Was risk the main driver for implementing Matcher or was it efficiency?
Actually both – we are a much smaller clinic than Vienna and have two people in the lab but even then, it is really hard to maintain the ‘four eyes’ principle – you need to have an electronic witnessing system because at the end of the day you want to go home feeling safe and that you’ve done everything right.
What do your patients think?
When a patient has their very first appointment with us, we give them a Matcher patient information sheet so from the very start they know they are going to receive an ID pass and that everything is going to be tracked. Now, when patients ask questions like “are you sure this is our embryo?” we can show them the barcode labels and explain that we have an electronic witnessing system as a double check. Additionally, the patient has the ID pass and even the sound of the ’match confirmed’ gives us peace of mind and is extremely comforting for the patients.
There is also the option to give the photo album report to any extremely concerned patients, so that they can see a photographic image of every step in their treatment cycle.
What differences have you seen with the new version Matcher 5.2?
I have used the older version of the Matcher system with the previous Pocket Matchers in our Vienna clinic, but in Baden we have installed the newer version 5.2 with the new Pocket Matchers, and I have noticed that the camera is much more effective than the old one. Especially when scanning smaller barcodes such as cryolabels on the vitrification straws, so we’re really enjoying that.
I prefer using the Pocket Matcher to the Matcher application on the tablet, it’s more comfortable to handle, self-explaining and easy to use. I use the tablet computer for having an overview and to start new patient cycles as well as in procedures that only scan barcodes on dishes. The colour coding on the workflow scheduler, showing which patients are nearly done and which procedures remain outstanding for the day are very helpful in the daily lab routine.
Do you find the new Pocket Matcher easier to use?
Yes, it’s much easier and more intuitive. Additionally, it makes the training of colleagues self-explanatory as you can show it to them once and then they can work with it straight away. This has been great for us.
Do you use Matcher for lot tracking?
Yes, we have two Pocket Matchers, one at the front desk and one in the lab, and we track all consumables in the clinic with it. So as well as the lab products, such as culture media and dishes, we also track lot numbers of syringes, needles, medicine etc. The whole clinic is now observed by Matcher and all the used products can be assigned to the patients if necessary. Plus, you get a notification if any of your tracked products is about to expire soon.
Have you seen any time/budget savings compared to when you were using manual witnessing?
We definitely save time in labelling the dishes and tubes, the barcode printout stays in the patient file and can be used for several cycles. The witnessing steps may take a bit longer when the Matcher system is new in the lab and you have to get used to it in all your procedures. A big difference in time and efficiency is the lot tracking system, no more lists or excel files are needed!
Overall
The system is working really well for us and we appreciate that we can go home knowing we had an ‘electronic colleague’ watching us in every step.
