Cayuga Health now offering real-time analysis of lab testing

ITHACA, N.Y. — Cayuga Health on Monday announced that its patients can now receive real-time analysis of laboratory tests — including biopsies — when needed, “resulting in quicker diagnosis, peace of mind and improved quality of care.”

The New York State Department of Health has approved Cayuga Medical Center’s (CMC) use of a new digital slide-scanning process to “enable this improvement.” The novel technology, validated at CMC, is available only in a few hospitals in New York, Cayuga Health said.

The scanners’ high resolution allows a “close-up look over any device without sacrificing the quality of the image,” Cayuga Health noted.

In cases where timeliness is critical, slides are scanned at bedside or in the lab and stored digitally, where a pathologist can review securely from any location using a tablet or desktop.

Pathologists can also share images virtually with colleagues or other labs instantly, without the time delay and expense of physically sending materials for review elsewhere.

“This process extends our reach as pathologists, allowing us to support multiple sites at once,” Dr. Elizabeth Plocharczyk, director of laboratories at Cayuga Health, said in a news release. “Our ability to provide real-time answers to our patients and colleagues is enhanced through the technology. Geography is no longer a constraint for quick turnaround time, especially important in a rural environment like ours where different patient care sites in the health system are separated by some distance.”

Based in Ithaca, Cayuga Health has two hospitals, Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca and Schuyler Hospital in Montour Falls, as well as a multi-specialty group, called Cayuga Medical Associates. It has a combined employment, including affiliated organizations, of more than 2,200 employees.