Diagnossis Laboratory
Centro de Medicina Familiar Vozandes
“Carapungo”
Quito, Ecuador
Ecuador has a unique set of healthcare requirements
with a strong commitment to social services that
strives to ensure the poor in society have as much
access to healthcare support as the wealthy. Private
laboratories across the country tend to be relatively
small, but whichever client base they cater for –
the poor or the affluent – the cobas c 111 analyzer
offers the perfect combination of high quality
and throughput. Hospital Vozandes is a charitybased hospital with satellite laboratories in some
of the poorer areas of Quito and the Centro de
Medicina Familiar Vozandes also known as
“Carapungo” is a typical example. Diagnossis
Laboratory on the other hand is situated near to
the most important private hospital in Ecuador
in a part of the city where there are many doctors
and a more wealthy population. Both of these
laboratories rely on the cobas c 111 analyzer.
Centro de Medicina Familiar Vozandes
“Carapungo”, Quito, Ecuador
• Private Satellite Laboratory
• 109,500 Clinical Chemistry
results per year
Diagnossis Laboratory, Quito, Ecuador
• Private Laboratory
• 27,375 Clinical Chemistry results per year
Diagnossis Laboratory – offering a service
of high quality
Customer expectations of the Diagnossis laboratory – from both doctors and patients – are very high, partly because
of their location in the city where they find themselves providing a service for people who demand value for their
money. They receive samples exclusively from ambulatory patients and they know that they must deliver a high
quality diagnostic service in order to compete. Dr Maria Freitas, the Clinical Pathologist describes their situation:
“We are a relatively new laboratory but
we are increasingly trusted by both
doctors and patients and that’s because
we are dedicated to offering a service of
increasingly improving quality.”
Every day, the laboratory works a 12 hour shift from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm with about 50 samples a day. This workload
makes the cobas c 111 analyzer the perfect fit as a machine that has high reproducibility and the sensitivity of the
Roche tests. Getting used to the system was easy for Lab Technician Liliana Caicedo:
“The first time I worked on the cobas c 111
analyzer I discovered that it was very easy
to use and the training was very quick.
Since then we’ve been working perfectly
and have had no problems with it at all.”
“With the cobas c 111 analyzer we’ve never
had any issues with performing tests.”
Small machine – big perfomance:
at the Centro de Medicina Familiar Vozandes
“Carapungo”
The Centro de Medicina Familiar Vozandes “Carapungo” is similar in size to the Diagnossis and they share
their passion for giving patients and their doctors trustworthy, high quality diagnostics and so enhancing the
personal care given to the patients: all at an affordable price for a population low on financial resources.
The first impression of the cobas c 111 analyzer among the team at the Carapungo was that it was a small,
compact machine that could fit almost anywhere in the laboratory. Lab Manager Maria Fernanda Molina explains:
“We had worked with Roche instruments
before and so we had great expectations.
So, despite its tiny size, we knew that its
performance would be good.”
The use of time is very important to the laboratory and the cobas c 111 analyzer contributes strongly in this
respect: because of its reliability the start of the shift is very quick and within a few minutes the staff can begin
their daily routine of tests. The same goes for quality control, which is conducted at the start of the week and
rarely requires any attention.
“For the size of the laboratory that we have,
I think it’s the ideal machine.”
Support in every way – the importance
of a trusted partner
Of course, quality of service is not just about the portfolio on offer, but also about the support provided. Roche have
proved themselves to be such a partner and Dr Freitas describes them as “experienced, serious and responsible”:
“With the support we receive we
always have the comfort of knowing
that we’re going to immediately have
a solution for any problem that
arises, and that the problem will be
resolved promptly in order to not
compromise the laboratory’s service
and the results that we need to send
to the patients’ doctors.”
Both of these laboratories need the reassurance of being supported by a trusted, reliable partner. Getting the
best out of the cobas c 111 analyzer depends on many factors, including reliability of reagent delivery, advice
from technical support staff, or fundamental scientific collaboration and consultation.
This is matched by the view from the Centro de Medicina Familiar Vozandes “Carapungo”, as Lab Manager,
Maria Fernanda Molina explains:
“The technology of diagnostic processes advances on a daily basis and
as it continues to develop, we need to be able to apply it for the benefit
of our customers. Roche helps us greatly by keeping us informed on how
automated technology is advancing. They help us and in turn we can
help someone else.”
“We in the laboratory need the person
who gives us support to be efficient and quick.
That is what we have had with Roche.”
Different laboratories but a consistent story
In a city where the contrasts between the poor and the wealthy can be very distinct, it is reassuring to know
that the influence of money on the provision of healthcare is counterbalanced by the performance of a small
cobas c 111 analyzer in two very different settings. While the Diagnossis Laboratory and the Centro de
Medicina Familiar Vozandes “Carapungo” laboratories work under completely different conditions, both
are capable of providing a diagnostic service that would match major laboratories in more sophisticated
economies, certainly in terms of quality and reliability of results. Dr Maria Freitas looks positively into the
future:
“Our goal is obviously to grow, and we
can only do that with the support of our
staff, the doctors who trust in us and
principally, the support of Roche.”
This relationship with Roche has also prospered because the laboratory benefits from the complementary
nature of services from a single supplier. Lab Manager, Maria Fernanda Molina, from the Centro de Medicina
Familiar Vozandes “Carapungo” also looks ahead in to the future positively:
“I feel supported because we have from Roche machines that offer us
quality in the results, speed, precision and efficiency. The reagents, the
instruments and the entire system comes from a single source and that
makes everything easier.”
Diagnossis Laboratory
Centro de Medicina Familiar Vozandes
“Carapungo”
Quito, Ecuador
COBAS, COBAS C and LIFE NEEDS ANSWERS
are trademarks of Roche.
Roche Diagnostics International Ltd
CH-6343 Rotkreuz
Switzerland
www.cobas.com
0813
©2013 Roche