Industry Insights
A New Year, A New Foundation: Why Now is the Perfect Time to Modernize Your Laboratory Information System
January 23, 2026
At the start of every new year, laboratory leaders pause to assess where they stand and where they need to go. Budgets are reset, strategic plans are refreshed, and long-standing challenges resurface with renewed urgency. For clinical laboratories and pathology practices, few decisions are more consequential than how to modernize core operations through an advanced laboratory information system (LIS).
In today’s environment, a laboratory information system is no longer just a technical utility. It is the digital backbone of pathology and clinical lab management, and laboratory revenue cycle management (lab RCM). The new year offers a natural inflection point to rethink whether your current LIS software is enabling growth or quietly holding your organization back.
This article explores why now is the right time to invest in a modern medical LIS, how the direction of travel for LIS systems is changing, and what lab leaders should prioritize as they evaluate their next-generation lab information system platform.
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The Changing Role of the Laboratory Information System
For decades, many LIS systems were designed with a narrow purpose: track specimens, record results, and produce reports. These early medical LIS platforms served an essential role, but they were built for a very different era, one with lower volumes, fewer integrations, and fewer regulatory requirements.
Today’s clinical and pathology labs operate in a far more complex environment. Laboratories now manage:
- High-throughput testing across multiple disciplines
- Outreach programs and cross-department processes
- Instrument and electronic health record connectivity
- Quality management and compliance reporting
- Laboratory billing and payer interactions
- Digital pathology solutions and image management
A basic lab information system that only tracks samples and reports results is no longer enough. Modern labs need a modern digital informatics platform that connects all departments, manages workflows, and provides a complete, real-time view of operations.
This shift is not theoretical. It reflects a clear direction of travel for LIS systems across the industry: from transactional record-keeping tools to enterprise-grade laboratory workflow management platforms that orchestrate the entire laboratory enterprise.
Unifying Departments to Eliminate Silos
One of the most important trends in modern lab workflow is the move toward unification.
Modern labs do much more than testing. They manage sample collection, accessioning, logistics, inventory, supplies, lab billing, quality assurance, compliance, client services, and reporting. When these functions operate on disconnected laboratory software systems, silos form quickly.
Silos create real operational risk:
- Duplicate data entry across departments
- Inconsistent patient and order information
- Delayed communication between technical and administrative teams
- Increased error rates and rework
- Limited visibility for managers
A unified laboratory information system brings these functions together on a single platform. Orders, specimens, results, billing events, and quality data all originate from the same source of truth.
This unification improves efficiency and changes how teams collaborate. When everyone works from the same information, miscommunication drops, accountability improves, and managers gain confidence that decisions are based on accurate data.
For labs entering a new year with growth plans, outreach expansion, or new service lines, unification is often the foundation that makes those strategies achievable.
Laboratory Workflow Management as a Strategic Advantage
In many labs, the greatest constraint is not instrumentation; it’s lab workflow.
Older LIS systems often struggle to manage complex outreach programs, cross-department processes, and multi-site operations. Specimens may move efficiently through one department but stall in another. Managers may sense delays but lack precise data on where bottlenecks occur.
Modern laboratory information system software changes this dynamic.
For example, an anatomic pathology LIS software uses automation and rules-driven routing to:
- Prioritize urgent or time-sensitive work
- Balance workloads across staff and shifts
- Monitor queue lengths and turnaround time
- Detect exceptions before they become failures
Real-time dashboards reveal exactly where each sample is, where staff are under pressure, and where intervention is required, enabling managers to optimize staffing and workflows before delays impact performance.
This capability allows labs to handle higher volumes without proportionally increasing headcount, an increasingly critical advantage in an era of persistent workforce shortages.
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Visibility, Transparency, and the Single Source of Truth
In the past, many labs relied on productivity reports that were hours or days out of date. By the time problems were visible, they had already affected turnaround time, client satisfaction, or revenue.
Modern laboratory information systems are built around real-time visibility.
With live dashboards, laboratory leaders can:
- Track order volumes by hour, day, or location
- Monitor turnaround time by test, department, or client
- Identify aging work-in-process
- Detect quality issues early
- Audit every action taken on every case
Automatic audit trails protect against errors and support compliance with CLIA, CAP, and payer requirements. More importantly, analytics turn raw data into actionable insight.
Instead of asking, “What happened last month?” lab leaders can ask, “What is happening right now, and what should we change today?”
This shift from retrospective reporting to operational intelligence is a defining characteristic of next-generation LIS medical solutions.
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LIS System Automation and Digital Labor
Staffing shortages are not a temporary disruption. They are a structural reality facing laboratories nationwide.
In this environment, LIS system automation is essential to relevance and any future growth.
Advanced LIS software now supports digital labor across the laboratory:
- Direct instrument integration eliminates manual transcription
- Auto-verification reduces routine result review
- Rules-driven routing minimizes manual specimen handling
- AI-assisted scheduling improves the utilization of staff and equipment
- Automated exception management flags problems in real time
Automation does not replace expertise. It protects it.
By removing low-value manual tasks, a modern medical laboratory information system allows technologists, pathologists, and supervisors to focus on work that truly requires judgment and experience. This not only improves productivity but also reduces burnout and improves retention.
In the new year, as labor markets remain tight, automation is often the difference between scaling successfully and falling behind.
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The Return on Investment of Modern LIS Software
Investing in a new laboratory information system is a major decision. But it is also one of the few investments that touches every dimension of laboratory performance.
The best LIS platforms deliver ROI through:
- Reduced labor costs through automation
- Shorter turnaround times
- Lower error and rework rates
- Improved compliance and audit readiness
- Faster onboarding of new clients and services
- Better payer performance and fewer denials
These benefits compound over time. As volumes grow, the efficiency gains multiply. As new services are added, the platform adapts without major reengineering.
Importantly, the ROI is not only financial. Faster, more reliable results improve patient care. Better visibility improves leadership confidence. Stronger systems improve staff satisfaction.
In the new year, many labs find that the cost of not modernizing is higher than the cost of moving forward.
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What to Look For When Evaluating LIS Systems
As lab leaders review their options this year, the choice is not simply between laboratory information system vendors. It is between the philosophies of how the lab will operate for the next decade.
When evaluating LIS systems, consider the following questions:
Is the Platform Truly Unified?
Does the LIS system support anatomic pathology software, clinical lab workflows, molecular diagnostics, and lab revenue cycle management on a single database? Or will you still manage multiple disconnected systems?
Is the System Scalable and Configurable?
Can your team configure workflows, rules, and reports without relying on outside developers? Or will every change require costly customization?
Does the Platform Support Continuous Innovation?
How often are updates delivered? Are new features included, or sold separately? Is the LIS company actively investing in automation, analytics, and digital pathology?
Is Training and Support Built In?
Will your staff receive ongoing training? Is support proactive or reactive? Do you gain a long-term partner or just a diagnostic lab software supplier?
Can the System Grow With Your Strategy?
Will the platform support new service lines, sites, clients, and regulatory requirements without major reinvestment?
The best LIS software is not the one with the longest feature list. It is the one that aligns with your operational strategy and evolves as your lab evolves.
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Choosing a Partner for Long-Term Success
Technology alone does not modernize a laboratory. Partnership does.
The most successful laboratory information system implementations are built on collaboration between the lab and a vendor who understands laboratory operations, implementation realities, and long-term growth.
Choose a partner who:
- Understands both clinical and financial workflows
- Provides structured implementation and change management
- Offers continuous training and support
- Invests in product development year after year
- Helps you adapt to regulatory and market change
In a rapidly evolving industry, your LIS lab partner becomes part of your leadership team.
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A New Year, A Strategic Opportunity
The start of a new year is more than a calendar milestone. It is a strategic opportunity.
As laboratory leaders reflect on last year’s challenges and this year’s goals, the question is no longer whether to modernize, but how soon.
A modern laboratory information system is more than an informatics tool. It is the foundation for unified and intelligent laboratory workflow management and sustainable growth.
In the year ahead, the laboratories that thrive will be those that invest now in platforms designed not for yesterday’s workflows, but for tomorrow’s realities.
Choose a system and a partner that helps you connect your lab, adapt to change, and succeed for the long term.
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The Moment That Defines Your Lab’s Next Decade
The start of a new year is the moment when strategy turns into action. For laboratory leaders, few decisions will have a greater impact on clinical quality, operational performance, and financial sustainability than the choice of a modern laboratory information system.
If your current LIS software limits visibility, depends on manual workarounds, or cannot scale with your growth plans, this is the year to change course.
Take the Next Step
Evaluate your current LIS systems, define your operational priorities for the year ahead, and engage with a trusted partner to modernize with confidence.
The best LIS system platform will not only support your lab in 2026, but also position you to lead for the next decade.
Author Profile
Suren Avunjian is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LigoLab, a leading developer of enterprise laboratory information systems and fully integrated laboratory revenue cycle management software. With more than two decades of experience in healthcare technology and laboratory informatics, he leads LigoLab’s vision of a unified, automation-driven informatics platform that seamlessly connects clinical, pathology, molecular, and financial workflows on a single, comprehensive system. Under his leadership, LigoLab has become a trusted partner to hundreds of laboratories nationwide, recognized for continuous innovation, deep industry expertise, and an unwavering commitment to operational excellence and customer success.
