Laboratory Information Systems
A laboratory information system, or LIS, is a software program that provides all the basic functionality needed for a clinical laboratory, whether that laboratory is hospital-based or a standalone commercial laboratory facility. Various components of the LIS will handle patient check-in, order entry, results entry, physician and patient demographics, specimen processing, and have some level of reporting ability.
Legacy laboratory information systems are typically homegrown, that is, they were developed within the organization 20 or 30 years ago, or were purchased ”off the shelf.” Homegrown systems and legacy systems often have problems with connectivity, scalability and flexibility, especially as technology changes within the laboratory and healthcare industry. Off-the-shelf products often force laboratories to modify their workflow to adapt to the LIS, rather than the other way around. Also, numerous LIS vendors have gone out of business or shifted their focus to other areas in the last two decades. Often legacy LISes utilize multiple databases, which create a great deal of difficulty with database interfaces and data synchronization.
Newer LISes are increasingly able to offer what laboratories need: modular-based systems with customizable functionality, scalability and a high level of adaptable connectivity for both institutional electronic medical records (EMRs) and physician access. Laboratories also require a LIS to to interface with the laboratory’s instrumentation, which allows patient results to be directly entered into the database and then into the EMR; Web-based order entry/result inquiry; and workload balancing. The LIS often has non-clinical functionality such as workflow monitoring and billing services.
In addition, these systems need to be customizable, be able to effectively and easily interface with both the institution’s electronic health record, the laboratory’s automated equipment, and provide Web-based access for physicians.
The environment for health information technology, specifically LISes, requires adherence to a number of national and international standards including CLIA, CCHIT, ANSI, HL7, HITSP, and LOINC.
Healtheon Already Choice Of Public Lab Companies
CEO SUMMARY: Probably no single individual has greater insight about the changes now occurring to web-based laboratory test ordering and results reporting than Healtheon Corporation’s Nancy Ham. As Vice President of Connectivity & Institutional Services, Nancy is responsible for Hea…
Clinical Lab and Pathology Informatics Merging For Internet Solutions
CEO SUMMARY: Information is where both clinical laboratories and anatomic pathologists will continue to add value to healthcare in the future. At this year’s Executive War College in May, THE DARK REPORT asked several leading innovators in laboratory and pathology informatics to share t…
1998 LIS Sales Rankings Show How Marketplace is Changing
CONSOLIDATION CONTINUED impacting sales of new laboratory information system (LIS) software during 1998. Sales champs in THE DARK REPORT’s annual ranking of the Top Ten LIS Vendors for 1998 are Meditech and Fletcher Flora, in the categories of LIS sales t…
1997 LIS Sales Rankings Topped By Cerner, LabSoft
CEO SUMMARY: Consolidation in the LIS industry continued during 1997. The impact for laboratory buyers is that market share is concentrated among fewer vendors. Over the long term, this reduces choice and leads to an oligopoly-type of market. In the short-term, all LIS companies are compe…
Innovative Approach Promises Integration of Clinical Lab Data
CEO SUMMARY: Any laboratory executive with several years in the business has confronted the limitations of laboratory information system (LIS) software. For a variety of reasons, LIS software seldom delivers the full range of benefits and cost-effectiveness sought by laboratories. But in …
Lab Information Systems Meeting Highlights Innovation, Ideas
CEO SUMMARY: Managed care’s pressure to create clinically integrated healthcare delivery systems changes the way laboratories report, use and warehouse clinical data. Dr. Bruce Friedman’s annual laboratory information systems conference in Ann Arbor provided graphic evidence that tech…
Meditech & LabSoft Top 1996 LIS Sales Rankings
CEO SUMMARY: Turnover and turmoil are the big news in the LIS field. Hospitals and commercial laboratories are upgrading or replacing their existing LIS software at a rapid pace. Meanwhile, mergers and consolidations within the LIS industry create new power players. LIS conversion project…
New Features Slated For Lab Information Systems
CEO SUMMARY: Two processes are transforming healthcare: managed care and quality management. Laboratory information systems must incorporate radically new features if they are to support changes to clinical laboratory operations. This makes it imperative that laboratory executives select …
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Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
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