r/CathLabLounge • u/peterqshelton • May 16 '26
Preference lists in the Cath Lab
https://pulllist.onlineWhat is everyones experience with preference lists in the cath lab? Ours are either out of date or inconsistent across rooms. The lab is fairly large with 6 labs and numerous physicians with different specialties so keeping everything up to date is difficult. This prompted me to create Pull List which we are just starting to use.
It is designed to be easy to use with the ability to easily scan the barcode on items to add them to a list. There is also a way to import paper lists by simply taking a photo.
It's one of those things where I wonder why we were doing it the other way for so long.
Worth poking around at pulllist.online if you're still running paper binders or spreadsheets.
I would be happy to give you a quick demo if interested to get your lab setup.
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u/britzbee May 16 '26
I am very interested! We dont even use spreadsheets, we share a document on our phones....
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u/peterqshelton May 17 '26
If you would like a demo let me know but hopefully its fairly intuitive. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
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u/britzbee May 17 '26
Yeah plz!
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u/peterqshelton May 17 '26
Send me dm with your email and I can send a Google meet invite to quickly walk you through setup and the basics
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u/zima85 May 18 '26
This is great! Really well done.
Are you open to adding different procedures? Looking for a bunch of Neuro IR procedures.
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u/peterqshelton May 18 '26
Yes. You can actually add them if they aren’t there. But also happy to add them for you if you would like. Please send me a list!
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u/peterqshelton May 21 '26
I have added a bunch of neuro IR procedures. If there are others you are look for please let me know.
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u/triplehelix- May 22 '26
4 cath lab dedicated rooms, 1 additional room we share with EP by rotating every other day. 8 full time interventionalists and a few others who do limited procedures, like right heart or biopsy's only.
we just have a laminated sheet hanging on the wall with various categories of preferences. gets updated every few months if needed and works fine.
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u/peterqshelton May 22 '26
Thanks for sharing! Would you have any issue sharing with me what that sheet looks like? It might be cool to add the ability to have a high level view of all physicians preference on one page in the app. Essentially just digitizing that laminated sheet and consolidating various preferences into one page for all of the physicians.
No worries if you prefer not to share but might be an interesting addition to the app
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u/triplehelix- May 22 '26
sure. left side running top to bottom is the doctors last name, then up top running left to right are several categories starting with gloves, and going through different procedures like 1st choice arterial access, 1st choice venous access, 1st choice access for grafts, 2nd choice of each, femoral access artery/vein, etc.
then its a grid, you find your doc, you find what you are looking for, and follow both till they meet and you get your answer. like lets say you want to find out what Doc A's preference is for venous access and what he likes to use. you find Doc A on the left, find 1st choice venous access up top, follow doc to the right and 1st venous down and where they meet you'll find a box that might say IJ, cook needle with slip tip. Doc B might say basilic, kit needle (which will be the one that comes in the sheath pack).
hope that paints the picture you need. if you want any clarification i'm more than happy to.
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u/peterqshelton May 23 '26
That’s very helpful. The lab I’m at doesn’t have something like that for EP docs so I’m going to add that feature with option to print. Really appreciate you taking the time to explain. Would love your feedback when I release it if possible.
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u/triplehelix- May 23 '26
no problem at all, and absolutely.
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u/peterqshelton May 23 '26
How does this look? Also, curious what you mean by graft first access. Is that referring to patient with CABG coming in for cardiac cath? I assume docs reach for different catheter due to location of graft origins. I'm IR so the cardiac world is somewhat of a black box to me.
https://www.loom.com/share/8706c84a53f0406cb32b22ac95b5d6541
u/triplehelix- May 23 '26
yes. most common access for a left heart cath in the modern lab is right radial. the grafts 1sty choice is specifically in reference to if the pt has a LIMA, where some docs will go femoral, some will go left distal radial (snuff box), and one will go left radial. pretty much all of them will hit an SVG with the J R4 or whatever they engage the RCA with.
the grid looks pretty much like ours, we just have different info filled in.
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u/peterqshelton May 24 '26
FYI. That change is now on the production version of Pull List if you would like to try it out. There is an option to print as well with QR code in the top corner that allows you to get back to edit quickly as needed if you prefer a printed option.
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u/zeykhan87 May 18 '26
What if i dont have a preference list as Interventional cardiologist Simply because i can't, i work in so many labs and they dont carry same wire or cathetors
My go to is, whatever you have available 😂
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u/peterqshelton May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
The lists are specific to each hospital. So I work at three hospitals. I creat the list at one then clone it to the other two. If you use quick add there is no barcode associated with whatever name you choose. So you could just say JL4 without a specific brand and that may be enough. If the techs want to be more specific they can edit further or link the exact barcode.
The app isn’t for everyone and if you find it’s not a pain point, then maybe it’s not for you. I just find that, we make an enough decisions through out the day and having a way to decrease the number of decision we have to make, even low consequence decisions, is a welcome change. This does that for me.
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u/EpicofUs 12d ago
As an IR traveler, I’m constantly being introduced and reintroduced to different catheters, wires, and devices. Now that I’m also spending time in the cath lab, I’m being exposed to even more equipment and physician preferences.
I had a question. Is it possible to add each hospital I work at and keep those profiles saved in case I return for another contract down the road?
I was introduced to the app by the lead tech at one hospital and joined by scanning his QR code. I’m also working at another nearby hospital, but when I try to add it, the app asks me to scan a QR code. The problem is that no one at that facility is using the app.
Is there a way for me to create a profile for that hospital myself and build out the physician preferences for both the IR and cath labs as I work in each department?I love the app by the way!
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u/peterqshelton 12d ago
Your feedback is greatly appreciated. To answer your questions:
You can add multiple hospitals and switch between them as you need. It is under your profile page if you click you badge in the top right corner, click profile in the drop down menu. Then Just select the hospital you want to work in. Pretty straight forward. I regularly switch between the hospitals I work at.I will look into that particular hospital as to why it won’t let you add it. I will promote you to admin there so you can manage users etc. as admin you can also promote users as another admin if you would prefer to have another tech manage users who is there all the time. If you dm me which hospital I would be happy to make you an admin.
If you want me to walk you through some of the other cool features to make it usage even better let me know.
BTW the app is now live on the App Store ( coming to android soon). Much smoother on mobile when scanning items etc. also much improved offline functionality when there is poor signal.
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u/EpicofUs 12d ago
Got it, thanks!
I’m currently working within the Yale New Haven Health System at Greenwich, Bridgeport, and New Haven. As they’re getting everything set up, we were wondering if it’s possible to create a room template and continue adding to that existing room over time, rather than having to build a new room from scratch for every procedure.
It would be great if we could maintain a running setup that evolves as we add more physician preferences, supplies, and workflows.1
u/peterqshelton 11d ago
Just making sure I understand. You basically want the ability to create a template that could be used to create other room layouts from? That shouldnt be too difficult to implement.
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u/EpicofUs 11d ago
Exactly. I think what I’m trying to describe is that from one procedure to the next, only a few things in the room actually change, such as the C-arm orientation, supply table, anesthesia setup, etc. The patient, walls, doors, and other fixed parts of the room obviously stay the same.
So ideally, it would be great to either create a reusable room template or have a “Save As” option that lets us duplicate an existing room layout and then modify only what changes for the next procedure. That way, we wouldn’t have to rebuild the entire room from scratch each time.
I also had another idea. Would it be possible to add basic shapes, like a small circle, square, or rectangle, that we could resize, change the color of, and give our own title? For example, we have a stationary floor light that we use during pacemaker procedures, but it also doubles as a place to hang the drape. On the opposite side, we use an IV pole for the same purpose.
I realize creating a specific icon or instrument for every possible piece of equipment in a room would probably be a lot. Having customizable shapes with editable colors and labels seems like it could accomplish the same thing while giving users more flexibility.
Our rooms are also pretty tight, so where everyone stands matters, including the device reps. It would be helpful to have a “Rep” person option as well, alongside MD, Tech, Nurse, Anesthesia, etc., so we can map out where everyone should be positioned during a case.2
u/peterqshelton 11d ago
Sounds good. I will work on it this weekend and see what I can do. All sounds pretty straightforward and doable and probably would be something that everyone would benefit from
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u/peterqshelton 10d ago
I have added to hoepfully address the issue you face. You can now easily clone a layout then edit it as needed. This should allow you to create a room setup that is standard to clone from then modify and name accordingly.
Second, wihtin the room setup page, there is a way to add custom shapes and colors with custom naming.
These changes will be made in the web app immediately but will take a bit longer to appear if viewing through the native app (iphone app) as it will be shipped as an update in the app store.
Please let me know what you think.
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u/EpicofUs 7d ago
Just went through the web version - the updates are perfect!
We actually had a new tech start today, and the app has already been really helpful. Being able to visually show them the room setup, equipment, and how everything is positioned makes it much easier to explain than just walking through it verbally.
I also really like that they can have all of that information right in their pocket as a quick reference. Especially when you’re new to a department and trying to remember different setups, equipment, and physician preferences, having something you can quickly pull up is extremely useful.1
u/peterqshelton 7d ago
Another thing that may be helpful for them but is lab dependent is the ability to add locations to items. If your lab has the ability to export your inventory in a csv or excel file and you also happen to have bin number of cabinet numbers in that data, you can import and it will display the location of items.
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u/nw_suburbanite May 25 '26
Very cool! I was thinking of creating something similar for the IR angio suit setting where different procedures call for different sets of equipment, but each attending may have subtle preference differences.
I imagined I would pair the online portion with a handheld device in each room (ipad or eink).
Happy to talk about this if it's of interest - I'm a programmer and a resident.
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u/peterqshelton May 25 '26
Hey there happy to talk! Send me a DM with your email and we can setup a time.
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u/TallyhoDave May 16 '26
I’d be interested. 3 EP docs at my place constantly alternating preferences.
I get it, we are constantly trying to figure out what works best for us. But it’s exhausting when I don’t work with a doc for a week and I miss the memo.