Streamline Your Workflows by Implementing the GO Pathology Workbench

Implementing the GenomOncology (GO) Pathology Workbench is a process that requires understanding a wide variety of information, ranging from specific next generation sequencing panels to a client’s laboratory and clinical workflows. At GO, we work together with our clients to ensure that our software is not only meeting their needs effectively, but exceeding them. We recognize that efficiency and ease of use is key in clinical reporting and strive to achieve that in all aspects of our software.

Bringing genetic testing in-house involves many moving parts. An institution has to decide what sequencer they would like to use, panel(s) they would like to run, and analysis software they would like to aid in their reporting, along with how to perform the sequencing and use the tools at hand. Once a panel is chosen, GenomOncology also offers comprehensive validation services to achieve optimal analytic performance. At that point, the Pathology Workbench implementation comes to life and the process begins.

Every GO product implementation begins with a kickoff meeting. In the kickoff, GO and the client discuss their workflow, objectives, and success criteria. We discuss what data will be analyzed, who in the laboratory completes each piece of the workflow, and any and all relevant feature designs and configurations. These include items such as what quality metrics and thresholds are important, how information is parsed into and presented in the GO Pathology Workbench, what they would like the format and content of their final report to entail, among many others. The kickoff meeting allows the GO team to gain enough information to build a client specific instance and create a work plan to ensure the correct features and enhancements are incorporated prior to go-live. As a new laboratory refines their workflow, additional information is gathered through ongoing status calls, emails, and brainstorming sessions. The process is iterative and is tailored to each client - many productive conversations lead to the end result.

Following a kickoff, GO builds a client Pathology Workbench instance based on the requirements and specifications received. The three main aspects of this are design, configuration, and development. Based on clients’ requests, a product specialist will design any new features necessary. These can be as simple as writing code to pull in additional assay metrics, or something more complex like replicating a “by hand” workflow within the software itself. We also design the report format and layout, including how the testing results should be presented together with their associated therapy approvals, clinical trial selections, alteration narrative content, and provider interpretation.

Once finalized, our designs go to our software engineering team and the code required to put them into practice is written. In the meantime the product specialist team configures the client’s instance so the correct metrics, genes, and alterations are available for review in the system. When development and configuration are complete, we perform extensive testing of the application before releasing into a client’s test environment. There they can load validation cases to guarantee that the system is working as they would expect. In order for them to do so we also provide hands on training, user guides, and an ongoing support line to address issues they may experience. The last step prior to launch aside from a technical verification is ensuring our clients feel comfortable with the system and all of their questions are answered.

When our clients are ready, we install the GO Pathology Workbench on their production environment and they begin to process clinical samples. This is the end of the implementation process, but not the end of the services GenomOncology provides. As clients, especially those who are new, run more samples and become more familiar with the entire process, they may request an update to the system to better fit their needs or look to incorporate additional panels. We enjoy keeping an ongoing relationship with our clients and welcome their input and ideas to support reporting of next generation sequencing results in a clinically actionable way.

Learn more about the GO Pathology Workbench.