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LigoLab Helps Lab Directors Get a Healthy Return on Their Laboratory Information System (LIS) Investment
September 19, 2024
In an industry that is often viewed as commoditized, what is the fundamental value proposition that your clinical laboratory or pathology group can offer to its customers?
That’s a question that all lab directors should be asking themselves if the goal is to grow net revenue and become more profitable while providing premium patient care in an already ultra-competitive and dynamic environment.
So in an industry that employs board-certified medical directors and processes the same types of clinical tests on the same types of analytical instruments, what differentiates one lab from the others?
“It’s the added value the lab can deliver to its customers; this is where a modern LIS laboratory information system and technology partnerships can enable the lab to become a forward-thinking information-driven organization,” said Suren Avunjian, LigoLab’s CEO, who for nearly two decades has helped bring a much-needed business-oriented approach to laboratory information system vendors and LIS system software.
According to Avunjian, there are four key questions that all clinical laboratory management teams should ask before licensing a lab information system, thereby ensuring a healthy return on their sizable pathology lab software investment.
Question # 1: Will the Laboratory Information System Provide Differentiation in the Marketplace?
“First off, laboratories need a way to differentiate, and the key way to do this is through the laboratory information system software they have running their operations,” Avunjian said. “The biggest difference-maker is the LIS medical software and its feature sets, and this enables advanced functionality that helps labs better support, sustain, and grow their customer bases.”
As an example, Avunjian pointed out that LigoLab Informatics Platform addresses the many unique elements that providers often require.
“Our platform gives users the power to intuitively configure rules and automation to support all customer preferences. This translates into quicker turnaround times, which remains a huge factor for labs. Faster results and bespoke reports equal happier customers and better patient care,” he said.
White Paper: Comparing LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information System Software
Question # 2: Will the LIS System Represent One Source of Truth?
In addition to market differentiation, Avunjian spoke about the importance of having a complete laboratory information system that supports every department, role, and lab workflow.
“Our informatics platform is the most comprehensive healthcare LIS and specifically designed for growing laboratories,” he said. “We provide lab operators with an end-to-end laboratory information management system that represents one source of truth.”
With LigoLab, all laboratory information system data is stored on one powerful and centralized infrastructure that includes modules for anatomic pathology (anatomic pathology LIS), clinical pathology (medical LIS), molecular diagnostics (molecular LIS), lab revenue cycle management (lab RCM), and direct-to-consumer lab testing (TestDirectly and TestDirectly.com), as well as all the supporting LIS system modules a laboratory could ever need to be successful, eliminating elements like the dreaded data silos, the need for multiple integrations, the scenario where multiple laboratory software vendors are pointing fingers at each other, and any other issues that come with disparate systems.
Learn More: Why Integrated LIS System and Lab RCM Software is a Catalyst for Growth
“The word “Ligo” means “to unite” or “to connect” in Latin, and that’s our philosophy, to provide one powerful laboratory information system software and one highly-responsive LIS company that manages all of the data that flows into and out of the laboratory, enabling labs to become super-efficient and lab directors and managers to focus on what they do best,” said Avunjian.
Wrapped around the five operational and financial modules that make up the platform are several supporting modules and supporting engines that easily make LigoLab's LIS software solutions the most comprehensive available.
Lab Information System Supporting Modules:
- Specimen Handling
- Provider Outreach
- Patient Portal
- Document Imaging
- Send-out Tracking
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Digital Pathology
- Business Intelligence
Lab Information System Supporting Engines:
- Workflow Designer
- Interface Engine
- Reporting and Distribution Engines
- Rule and Automation Engines
- Voice Dictation and Control
“We’re a pathology information system partner that can replace multiple and outdated laboratory software systems within a lab causing barriers and preventing growth,” said Avunjian. “At the same time, we also realize that every laboratory is very unique. That's why we made our laboratory workflow management solutions comprehensive and extremely flexible.”
Learn More: What You Need to Know Before Contracting with a Laboratory Information System (LIS) Company
Question # 3: Is the Lab Information System Highly Configurable?
Flexibility is another key area where LigoLab excels and where labs can rise above the competition. LigoLab's pathology LIS systems are highly configurable, and better yet, configurations for report templates and LIS lab rules can be modified easily by the users themselves.
“Of course, we are always available to help them as needed, but what our customers love the most is the flexibility that the all-in-one LIS lab platform gives them,” stated Avunjian. “Once trained, they can make configuration changes on the fly without any IT or external assistance.”
This level of flexibility with LigoLab’s LIS software is unique within the industry. It’s also a real value when you consider that in most cases with other legacy or homegrown laboratory information systems, even minor configuration adjustments require IT and external assistance that can be very costly and time-consuming.
“Our pathology LIS platform is very flexible, and it adapts as the environment changes,” Avunjian said. “During the pandemic, many of our customers experienced rapid growth because they were able to swiftly adapt to the new lab workflow made necessary by COVID-19. Credit goes to both our LIS company and our customers for having the entrepreneurial spirit and the foundation to adapt quickly to those changes. They not only processed the additional volume efficiently, but they also swiftly supported the changing marketplace while fighting together on the front line of a pandemic.”
Learn More: Stability and Performance: The Two Most Important Aspects of a Modern Laboratory Operation
Question # 4: Will the Laboratory Information System Create Barrier-Breaking Efficiency?
The end-to-end efficiency that LigoLab’s LIS model creates inside a laboratory represents yet another powerful force that spurs growth and eliminates mistakes.
“Many of our lab partners migrated from homegrown or legacy LIS systems that lacked functionality, reliability, and scalability,” said Avunjian. “Our LIS system platform drives laboratory workflow supported by automation and rules that help laboratories attain the highest levels of efficiency and become virtually error-free.”
The efficiency generated by LigoLab's LIS software solutions directly targets the bottlenecks and barriers that prohibit a medical lab from achieving its desired scalability and compliance.
“That’s the reason why lab directors implement LIS systems like ours. It’s because they’ve hit a limit on how much they can grow and process with their current LIS systems and the manual workarounds, and they need laboratory software systems that will help them break through that artificial ceiling that’s holding them back as organizations,” he said.
Industry Insights: Why Replace Your Laboratory Information System? Things To Consider
LIS Systems: How to Measure the Return on Your LIS Investment
So, how should lab directors and managers measure the return on investment (ROI) for a new laboratory information system?
“The best way to measure ROI is if a lab can scale without adding FTEs (full-time equivalents),” said Avunjian. “Without fail, when our new customers first deploy our lab information system platform, they quickly realize they can take on more business without adding personnel.”
Webinar: How to Beat Pathologist and Combat Staffing Shortages
Avunjian went on to list a few more direct and indirect benefits that LigoLab's LIS system customers enjoy soon after go-live:
- Heightened data visibility that allows for quick and informed decision-making
- A single source of truth and better laboratory workflow management
- Increased revenue without adding more operating costs
- Improved staff retention
- Improved turnaround times (TAT)
- Improved customer service and satisfaction
- A reduction in errors
- Less compliance risk
Learn More: Top 10 Medical Laboratory Mistakes and How to Prevent Them from Happening in Your Lab
Avunjian also noted that having an all-in-one lab information system that can manage and support multiple disciplines (such as anatomic pathology, clinical laboratory, molecular diagnostics, and more) plus in-house laboratory billing is a huge competitive advantage that translates into a value proposition for today and a future-ready growth plan for tomorrow.
Case Study: Leveraging LIS System & Lab RCM Integration to Improve the Laboratory Billing Process
“Even if a lab is just doing anatomic pathology LIS workflow today, that lab’s leadership knows that with our LIS model, there is the potential to bring on other types of testing and a fully integrated lab revenue cycle management module (lab RCM) without having to go and buy another laboratory software system,” he said.
Imagine, bringing on new tests and new disciplines, minus a huge and costly LIS system implementation process, followed by the need to synchronize multiple laboratory software systems together. You don’t have to worry about this with LigoLab’s game-changing pathology lab software.
“I can go on for hours talking about all of the disadvantages that come with having multiple laboratory software systems,” said Avunjian.
Learn More: Keys to Keeping Your LIS System Implementation on Track
LIS Model Pricing Unmatched by Other Laboratory Information System Vendors
Avunjian also conveyed the importance of teaming with a LIS company that’s aligned with the laboratory’s long-term success, and this is often reflected in the pricing offered by a particular LIS model.
“We purely believe in aligning and partnering with our clients. That’s why we set up a tiered pricing model with relatively small upfront costs,” he said.
With LigoLab’s aligned pricing, what’s good for the lab is also good for the LIS company. Because of this, there is a real incentive for LigoLab’s talented development team to continue to enhance the LIS software platform daily with new features and functionality.
“It’s a very different LIS model than our competitors, who, after selling to clients, would rather deal with them as little as possible because they see that as an extra burden and cost,” said Avunjian.
“For us, every interaction is an investment back into our LIS company,” said Avunjian, noting that LigoLab, now serving nearly 300 laboratory facilities nationwide, has no hidden fees or limits on seats, modules, and support.
“That speaks volumes about our laboratory information systems and also our customer service,” he said.
Learn More: LigoLab Informatics Platform: Uniquely Designed Tiered Pricing to Deliver Maximum Value
Don’t Forget About LigoLab's Service and Support
Another important aspect that helps LigoLab maintain its long-term client partnerships is its unmatched customer service.
From lab information system implementation to go-live and beyond, LigoLab provides its lab partners with unlimited support delivered by its best-in-class personnel. This 24/7 level of dedication to the customer isn’t the norm within the industry. Still, it fits well with a LigoLab core belief, and that’s to be a partner who takes full responsibility for all of a lab’s informatics.
“Our partnership philosophy continues to serve us well, as does our belief that the quality and the responsiveness of the support we offer is equally important as the laboratory information system software” said Avunjian. “I don’t think anyone can match the level of service we provide our customers. It’s a driving force that’s led to mutual success for our partners and us in what's become a very challenging marketplace.”
In summary, LigoLab gives its customers the best laboratory information system software in terms of performance and cost, takes full responsibility for all laboratory data, and acts as a lab’s information system department, all while delivering unlimited customization, support, and maintenance. It’s all included in an attractive licensing agreement built for laboratory success.
Learn More: Speak with a LigoLab Product Specialist
LigoLab's Award-Winning Laboratory Informatics Platform
LigoLab customers have long known what makes the LigoLab platform a standout laboratory information system, and the word is getting out fast.
- Frost & Sullivan honored LigoLab with its Competitive Strategy Leadership Award.
- LigoLab has repeatedly earned High Performer status from G2, a business software review site.
- LigoLab has also been recognized as an Emerging Favorite in the medical billing software category by Capterra.
Do you like what you’ve learned so far? Ready to see how LigoLab can help you achieve your laboratory goals? Then the next step is to CLICK HERE and connect with one of LIS system software experts.
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