Lafayette General Medical Center is the first hospital in Louisiana to use a proprietary molecular genetic technology, which includes specific tests that more accurately diagnose respiratory infectious diseases. This technology, called Target Enriched Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (Tem-PCR), allows physicians to test for multiple infections, both viral and bacterial, in as little as four hours. This faster and more precise testing helps physicians create efficient treatment protocols which generally improve clinical outcomes and decrease length of stay. Tem-PCR testing is provided by Diatherix Laboratories Inc., located in the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala.
“This is highly advanced testing technology,” says David Callecod, chief executive officer of LGMC. “Complex respiratory infections are a major challenge faced by hospitals. For the first time, using a revolutionary nasal wash test, our physicians will be able to quickly and more accurately diagnose a respiratory infection as well as co-infections, which may go undetected using more traditional testing. Our physicians will be able to simultaneously treat both primary and co-infections resulting in more positive clinical outcomes.”
“Hospitals throughout Louisiana and across the country are inundated with patients suffering from various types of respiratory diseases, all of which can be more cost-effectively and rapidly identified as well as more accurately coded using this new and exciting technology,” says Dennis Grimaud, chief executive officer of Diatherix Laboratories. “The impact on the costs of treatment and the clinical outcomes is significant.”
Lafayette General Medical Center is the largest, full-service, acute-care medical center in the nine parishes of Acadiana.
