Building a Newborn Screening Information Management System from Theory to Practice

Michael Pluscauskas; Matthew Henderson; Jennifer Milburn; Pranesh Chakraborty

doi:10.3390/ijns5010009

Building a Newborn Screening Information Management System from Theory to Practice

Int J Neonatal Screen. 2019 Jan 23;5(1):9. doi: 10.3390/ijns5010009. eCollection 2019 Mar.

Authors

Michael Pluscauskas¹, Matthew Henderson¹, Jennifer Milburn¹, Pranesh Chakraborty^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Newborn Screening Ontario, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M8, Canada.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada.

Abstract

Information Management Systems are the central process management and communication hub for many newborn screening programs. In late 2014, Newborn Screening Ontario (NSO) undertook an end to end assessment of its information management needs which resulted in a project to develop a flexible IS Information Systems (IS) ecosystem and related process changes. This enabled NSO to better manage its current and future work-flows and communication needs. An idealized vision of a Screening Information Management System (SIMS) was developed that was refined into enterprise and functional architectures. This was followed by the development of technical specifications, user requirements and procurement. In undertaking a holistic full product lifecycle redesign approach, a number of change management challenges were faced by NSO across the entire program. Strong leadership support and full program engagement are key for overall project success. It is anticipated that improvements in program flexibility and the ability to innovate will outweigh the efforts and costs.

Keywords: LIMS; LIS; laboratory information management system; laboratory information system; neonatal screening; newborn screening; screening information management.