Industry Insights
Laboratory Information Systems and the Key Role They Play in Lab Data Analytics
November 28, 2023
On behalf of LigoLab CEO Suren Avunjian, we’d like to take a moment to thank Kara Nadeau and Medical Laboratory Observer for allowing our company to participate in the magazine’s second annual State of the Industry report that focused on Lab Data Analytics.
For the report, MLO surveyed a wide spectrum of laboratorians, including lab directors, lab managers, and department heads/department managers. The majority of those surveyed work in hospital labs (63 percent) with an additional 25 percent of the respondents employed by independent labs or physician office labs. The size of the labs represented also varied greatly with labs as small as 1-10 employees and labs with 100-plus employees both included, along with everything in-between.
For his part, Avunjian commented that implementing electronic processes into the lab is vital if significant volume exists and if the business has plans to grow its customer base and its volume capacity.
In the report, he noted that forward-thinking labs utilize modern laboratory information system software to eliminate risk, automate core processes, and maximize interoperability with EHRs, lab analyzers, and third-party services (like billing companies).
In terms of interoperability, Avunjian cautioned against labs using multiple electronic systems and multiple software vendors for data integration. Rather than multiple systems, he recommended working with systems like LigoLab Operating Platform that offer all-in-one solutions that are able to account for and manage all laboratory informatics.
When asked which areas of the clinical lab workflow are increasingly moving away from manual to electronic processes supported by LIS platforms, Avunjian responded by saying the accessioning of client orders tops the list. And that’s for good reason, with orders processed via an electronic interface free of typographical errors that come with manual order entry. Other benefits include an increase in throughput capacity and an improvement in test result turnaround times. Avunjian also commented on the fact that some of LigoLab’s client base is also moving toward electronic processing in support of automated laboratory billing and digital pathology, and that some labs have also adopted automatic case assignments for pathologists plus the automatic assignment of case numbers based on common factors (like the client, physician, test type, etc.).
Click HERE to read and review the complete MLO report.
For more details on LigoLab’s approach to laboratory informatics and the importance of one source of truth for true lab data integrity and a successful laboratory business, we invite you to check out the following links as well.
How Cole Diagnostics Streamlined Client Billing with LigoLab’s LIS & RCM Platform
