Case Study: Legacy Health achieves an 85% drop in specimen label errors with Cerner tracking solutions

From collection to archive: Legacy Health paves the way in tracking pathology specimens

Legacy Health, a regional laboratory system, faced a critical risk in anatomical pathology: small, often indistinguishable tissue specimens could be mislabeled, misplaced or lost, potentially delaying or misdirecting patient diagnoses. Reliance on handwritten labels and complex courier routes across multiple sites increased turnaround time and the chance for error.

To address this, Legacy implemented Cerner’s Advanced Barcode and Tracking (AB&T) to print scannable labels and track specimens through each lab stage, then added RFID to capture tracking at the bedside and during transport. The combined solution improved workflow visibility and efficiency, shortened turnaround times, expanded tracking to the point of collection, and reduced label errors by 85% in the first year.

Legacy Health

Kevin Verdon

Sr. Application Technical Analyst