Update: The changes have now been completed and all below functionality is now available on the Live system.
Following the recent Achiever build upgrade, we are now in a position to roll out some changes to the system. These have been requested by users in recent months and should make working with Achiever a little easier and more efficient. The following changes have been tested on our Development environment and are due to be published on the Live environment Wednesday, 21 December.
New fields added to ‘Update Sample Properties’ workflow
We have added 3 fields – Sample Subsite, Sample Description and Pathology Code to the Update Sample Properties workflow, allowing users to add new samples containing these properties much more efficiently. In addition, you will now be able to find this workflow available from the Sample Summary screen which is displayed following the Insert New Sample Group and Subdivision of Multiple Samples workflows, so you don’t have to search and select recently-added samples again to update their properties.
Making Participant ID read-only
The Participant ID is generated automatically when adding a Donor record to a Collection. However, Achiever also allows users to override this field with any text, which can interfere with the auto-generation process. Because users are able to use custom IDs within the Second Reference field, we are making the Participant ID read-only and it will always represent the Achiever-generated ID, much like Donor ID for Donor records and Sample ID for Sample records.
Changing Donor mandatory fields
Up to now, when creating a new Donor record the user was forced to populate the Surname field. In many cases users have no specific data to enter here, so simply enter dummy data or a copy of the External Reference. Therefore we are removing the mandatory requirement on Surname and placing it on External Reference instead. In addition, we have amended the search screen which is used prior to creating a new Donor record to allow users to search by External Reference.
New Sample Additive field
A number of users require a way of storing information regarding sample additives such as anticoagulants used. Storing this data as part of the Tissue Type/Derivative is not flexible, and holding it within free-text fields such as Sample Description is also prone to error. Therefore a new field has been created within Sample Additional Details, named Additive. Currently this can be populated from a picklist including EDTA, Heparin, PAXgene and others.
Additional options for Informed Consent
Following a requirement to flag certain pre-2006 samples with specific consent information, and in order to differentiate them from samples acquired post-HTA, which use the specific consent types already available – we are adding two extra consent types. The new options are ‘Pre 01/09/2006 No Consent’ and ‘Pre-01/09/06 Consent’.
We hope these changes have a positive impact on your use of Achiever. Any issues can be raised via the usual support process, and feedback is welcome via the blog.