The Cluj Trio

72 → 5–6 hours — Diagnosis of sepsis — how much has the time to the first result decreased?

1,000,000+ Tests  performed in one year for facilities in Cluj and across the country

Three people, three perspectives on the same project. The manager talks about strategy and how to build a public hospital that refuses to fall behind. The expert in European projects talks about funding and the struggle to implement the project. The lab director talks about patients, test results, and the number that changes everything: from 72 hours to 5–6 hours for the first result in sepsis. In Cluj, the digital transformation has progressed gradually, alongside the hospital’s development and the need for systems capable of handling increasingly complex cases, higher volumes of tests, and faster medical decisions.

The Engines of a Hospital

Ioan Mureşan, M.Sc., has been directing the Cluj Infectious Diseases Hospital for nearly two decades. During this time, the hospital has expanded beyond its traditional focus on infectious diseases and has built one of the most sophisticated medical laboratories in the region.

His philosophy is simple:

“A hospital’s engines must be powerful. My engines are the lab and imaging. Without them, you can’t provide quality medical care.“

— Ioan Mureșan, Ec.,  Manager, Cluj-Napoca Infectious Diseases Hospital

Today, the laboratory performs over one million tests per year for public and private hospitals in Cluj and other counties. Many of the complex tests that used to be sent to Bucharest or abroad are now performed here, within 24–48 hours. 

The Projects That Transformed the Hospital

A significant part of the digital transformation was achieved through European projects coordinated by Dr. Doina Colcear. The laboratory was funded through the PNRR. 

““The best argument for a project is to see it working somewhere else. We went to see it for ourselves. And once we saw it, the decision was easy.“

— Dr. Doina Colcear, board-certified psychiatrist, Project Manager, Cluj-Napoca Infectious Diseases Hospital

However, the experience in Cluj also revealed something else: no project can be copied exactly from one hospital to another. Even if the technology is the same, each laboratory has its own constraints, its own workflows, and its own needs.

From a microscope and a centrifuge to spacecraft

Dr. Mirela Flonta has been running the lab for decades. She recalls its early days, when she had just a microscope and a centrifuge. Today, the lab operates around the clock, serves hospitals throughout the region, and performs specialized tests that few centers in Romania can carry out quickly.

““We now have technologies that, at first, I wondered if I’d ever get to see before I retired. Spaceships—that’s what I call them.“

— Dr. Mirela Flonta, Senior Microbiologist, Head of the Laboratory, Cluj-Napoca Infectious Diseases Hospital

The laboratory has become the reference laboratory for the diagnosis of infections in Transylvania. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was one of the few centers serving multiple counties simultaneously.

The pressure on the laboratory has not eased since the pandemic. Complex cases, rare diseases, and infections that require rapid diagnosis and collaboration across multiple specialties continue to arise.

The number that changes everything: sepsis

In the past, the final result for sepsis would be available in about 72 hours. Today, the initial result can be available in 5–6 hours, and the complete result in less than 24 hours.

“With sepsis, every hour counts.“

— Dr. Mirela Flonta

For a critically ill patient, the difference between a few hours and a few days is enormous.

The hardest part wasn't the technology

In Cluj, system integration has become one of the most challenging aspects of the project. Each analyzer has its own software. The laboratory’s LIS must communicate with all of them, and on top of that, there is a need for middleware — a software layer that integrates data flows, filters relevant information, and functions as a central control panel for the lab. 

In practice, integration isn't just about connecting pieces of equipment. It means that analyzers, software, middleware, and the hospital's IT systems work together as a single system.

“Smart software doesn’t demonstrate its full value due to a lack of integration.“

— Dr. Mirela Flonta

All three voices in Cluj—the manager, the project expert, and the lab—reach the same conclusion: interoperability is the next major challenge in hospital digitization.

Digitization Beyond the Lab

In the intensive care unit, the hospital has implemented a telemedicine system and an integrated patient data management system. The next project is the pharmacy.

“It’s pointless for us to do this on our own. The benefit comes when there are as many hospitals as possible at this level.“

— Ioan Mureșan, Ec.

In the lab, the transformation is already evident: faster results, more complex analyses, and a workload that continues to grow.

In the intensive care unit, the hospital has begun installing digitally connected monitoring and telemedicine systems. The next project is the pharmacy.

For the team in Cluj, all of this is part of the same overall goal: to build a public hospital capable of operating at increasingly high standards, through projects developed step by step.

Manager Ioan Mureșan talks about strategy. Dr. Doina Colcear discusses implementation and funding. Dr. Flonta discusses the laboratory and patients. From different perspectives, all three describe the same thing: a hospital that continues to grow. 

“We compare ourselves to ourselves. And every day, we try to be better than we were yesterday.“

— Ioan Mureșan, Ec.