Life-Saving Automated Referral Program Transforms Organ Donation for Oklahomans
Oklahoma City, OK (Oct. 3, 2024) – For those awaiting a life-saving organ, eye or tissue transplant, every second counts. LifeShare Network has introduced groundbreaking technology to Oklahoma: InVita’s Automated iReferral® interoperability platform.
Across the state, hospitals are required by the Center for Medicare Services to make a call to LifeShare to evaluate organ and tissue potential when patients are near end of life. Each patient is evaluated during that phone call, and it is determined if a potential donation opportunity exists at the time of the patient’s death. Out of every 100 referrals, approximately three patients may meet the criteria to be a donor hero, and each phone call with hospital staff can take 20 minutes or longer. Because of this, it is vital that hospitals have the tools to make this process as efficient as possible.
With the new Automated iReferral technology, hospitals can instantly and securely transfer patient critical evaluation information LifeShare’s team, eliminating the initial phone call and cutting the time spent addressing referrals from 75 hours per month to just 19 minutes.
The iReferral was piloted in Oklahoma at Saint Francis Health System. The automated iReferral interface was implemented Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at five primary Saint Francis locations.
“We believe this new technology will further advance our mission to save lives and inspire hope,” said Clint Hostetler, Chief Operating Officer at LifeShare Network. “Automated iReferral will help us streamline the process and ensure every potential referral is made timely. Timely referrals allow us to connect at the appropriate time with families who are experiencing grief during these final stages of their loved ones’ lives. At the end of the day, it’s all about the families and the heroic actions of organ and tissue donors, so it’s important to us that we honor their selfless gift and work to create a more efficient and compassionate patient referral environment.”
LifeShare hopes to continue implementing this technology with other hospitals throughout the state to maximize organ and tissue donation opportunities.
“Congratulations to the LifeShare Network and Saint Francis teams for the first launch of iReferral in Oklahoma,” said Wade Liu, InVita Healthcare Technologies’ Chief Product Officer and General Manager of the Donation and Transplant Division. “We’re proud to bring this technology to Oklahoma hospitals to provide critical process efficiencies and to help realize each and every opportunity to save and heal lives through organ, eye and tissue donation.”
About LifeShare Network
At LifeShare Network, Inc, we believe in saving lives and inspiring hope. As a leading non-profit organization, our team fosters a strong commitment to serving Donor Heroes and their families. We ensure lifesaving gifts reach those in greatest need by collaborating with 145 hospitals and 3 transplant centers across Oklahoma.
We are at the forefront of transplant research, innovation and education, made possible by our three subsidiaries: LifeShare Innovations, LifeShare of Oklahoma, and LifeShare Tissue Services, Inc, which all exist from community support of the LifeShare Foundation.
About InVita Healthcare Technologies | invitahealth.com
InVita provides mission-critical and chain-of-custody software technologies for complex medical, forensic, and community care environments. InVita's solutions streamline clinical workflows, optimize supply chains, sample tracking, and visibility across donation and transplantation, blood and plasma operations, the tissue and implant lifecycle, and environments spanning DNA and forensics. InVita continues to expand the iReferral® and iTransplant® platforms supporting nearly 75% of all OPOs in the United States and used by more than 15,000 medical professionals across more than 100 organ, tissue, eye, and birth tissue organizations around the world.
Across the state, hospitals are required by the Center for Medicare Services to make a call to LifeShare to evaluate organ and tissue potential when patients are near end of life. Each patient is evaluated during that phone call, and it is determined if a potential donation opportunity exists at the time of the patient’s death. Out of every 100 referrals, approximately three patients may meet the criteria to be a donor hero, and each phone call with hospital staff can take 20 minutes or longer. Because of this, it is vital that hospitals have the tools to make this process as efficient as possible.
With the new Automated iReferral technology, hospitals can instantly and securely transfer patient critical evaluation information LifeShare’s team, eliminating the initial phone call and cutting the time spent addressing referrals from 75 hours per month to just 19 minutes.
The iReferral was piloted in Oklahoma at Saint Francis Health System. The automated iReferral interface was implemented Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at five primary Saint Francis locations.
“We believe this new technology will further advance our mission to save lives and inspire hope,” said Clint Hostetler, Chief Operating Officer at LifeShare Network. “Automated iReferral will help us streamline the process and ensure every potential referral is made timely. Timely referrals allow us to connect at the appropriate time with families who are experiencing grief during these final stages of their loved ones’ lives. At the end of the day, it’s all about the families and the heroic actions of organ and tissue donors, so it’s important to us that we honor their selfless gift and work to create a more efficient and compassionate patient referral environment.”
LifeShare hopes to continue implementing this technology with other hospitals throughout the state to maximize organ and tissue donation opportunities.
“Congratulations to the LifeShare Network and Saint Francis teams for the first launch of iReferral in Oklahoma,” said Wade Liu, InVita Healthcare Technologies’ Chief Product Officer and General Manager of the Donation and Transplant Division. “We’re proud to bring this technology to Oklahoma hospitals to provide critical process efficiencies and to help realize each and every opportunity to save and heal lives through organ, eye and tissue donation.”
About LifeShare Network
At LifeShare Network, Inc, we believe in saving lives and inspiring hope. As a leading non-profit organization, our team fosters a strong commitment to serving Donor Heroes and their families. We ensure lifesaving gifts reach those in greatest need by collaborating with 145 hospitals and 3 transplant centers across Oklahoma.
We are at the forefront of transplant research, innovation and education, made possible by our three subsidiaries: LifeShare Innovations, LifeShare of Oklahoma, and LifeShare Tissue Services, Inc, which all exist from community support of the LifeShare Foundation.
About InVita Healthcare Technologies | invitahealth.com
InVita provides mission-critical and chain-of-custody software technologies for complex medical, forensic, and community care environments. InVita's solutions streamline clinical workflows, optimize supply chains, sample tracking, and visibility across donation and transplantation, blood and plasma operations, the tissue and implant lifecycle, and environments spanning DNA and forensics. InVita continues to expand the iReferral® and iTransplant® platforms supporting nearly 75% of all OPOs in the United States and used by more than 15,000 medical professionals across more than 100 organ, tissue, eye, and birth tissue organizations around the world.
