Orchard Software in Indiana offers Orchard Harvest LIMS, a laboratory information management system dedicated to providing operational support and streamlining with rules-based decisioning, data analytics and business intelligence, and clear interfaces.
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SoftLab
Score 8.8 out of 10
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SCC Soft Computer headquartered in Clearwater offers SoftLab, their Laboratory Information Management (LIMS) offering , emphasizing multi-site data coordination and centralization, and workflow automation, with a rules-based system.
Harvest is well suited in a lab or a reference lab of about any size. You can customize the workflow with filters and permissions to ensure that the right people have the right abilities when they need them. I would say that it is not as great for locations that have multiple remote locations without great internet. Because of the underlying technologies, latency between client and server can cause havoc.
Verifying critical results via SoftLab is a very well demonstration of its high functionality. You can add a message to the result that it's been repeated and results are confirmed. Also, you can add the name of the nurse who was notified of the result. Also, you can see the previous results right next to the current one with the date it was performed. All of these aforementioned features are available in the same window making it a very good experience to verify a critical result as a Medical Lab Scientist. SoftLab has been never less appropriate to face any scenarios. It has always exceeded my expectations.
Receiving of specimens is highly convenient now and can be done via two platforms within the same software. We use a scanner to scan the barcode as opposed to typing in any info. So in addition to being convenient, it reduces clerical errors.
Verifying results was never easier now with just one click. Patient results are verified and sent to the nurses and doctors. Also, to our convenience, a list of codes/messages are available such as this test has been repeated. In addition to keeping a record of calling in critical results.
Logging in our daily core lab instruments QC results and maintenance tasks have now been transformed from paperwork to verifying and enter results via SoftLab QC which is very easy and enjoyable.
User Interface - The software is like 25 years old, and it feels like it. They have added some buttons and links to try to make it easier, but it's not as flashy as the SaaS applications that are being built these days. It feels like there isn't a lot of time spent on refining the features, just adding more to it.
Archaic Architecture - The application use 4D for the database. This means that you can't use SQL for queries, latency is a huge issue and there isn't a hosted option. You have to have your own in-house server to run the server application.
Client is an Application - We have workstations dedicated to managing the interfaces. These workstations have to run the application as a program and can not run them as a service. This means that if you want to apply Windows updates it required manually closing and re-launching the application.
Data Mining - There are some basic reports, but they do not really allow you to build complex reports about the patients or work being performed.
I have yet to find any features that are hard to use. I honestly believe that SoftLab is very easy to use and is 100% user-friendly. SoftLab has outdone itself as an LIS and needs no improvement.
We were looking into changing to another LIS but they failed to get things done and we ended up staying with Orchard. We are now in the process of moving everything to Sequoia since we have grown so much as a lab. I don't have any other experience with another LIS to compare to.
The support provided by Orchard Software for Harvest allows me to not have to worry as much about the system. I can grant them access to my system and trust them to work on the issue while I work on other issues.
The automation saves a lot of time for those in the lab. There have been a few times that the lab has been down for a couple of hours and having to catch up and enter the results from the instruments manually can take the rest of the day.
As a Medical Lab Scientist, I believe that SoftLab made it easier and quicker to verify results meaning that results are available to Doctors a lot faster than before which in return may lessen the wait time of patients in ER which makes them happy and will definitely come back again when in need which is good from a business point of view.
