Industry Insights
Process Improvement and Advanced Technology to Help Relieve Laboratory Staffing Burden
May 12, 2026
As laboratory professionals continue to seek ways to relieve the staffing burden all medical labs face, LigoLab continues to support its pathology and clinical laboratory management partners with answers and the best laboratory information system software solutions.
To draw awareness to the problem, LigoLab CEO Suren Avunjian and Dr. James Crawford, Senior Vice President for Laboratory Services at Northwell Health, contributed to a MedCity News article (linked below) that explored the issue and offered helpful solutions. The two industry experts identified process improvements in laboratory workflow management and advanced laboratory information systems as key areas for lab directors and managers to focus on.
Industry Insights: Best LIS Systems - Top Laboratory Information Systems Compared for Clinical, Pathology, and Outreach Labs
Part One: Industry Leaders Identify Solutions to the Lab Staffing Crisis
Key Points From the MedCity News Article
The Importance of Laboratory Testing: Laboratory testing is the highest-volume activity in medicine. The CDC estimates that 70 percent of medical decisions rely on lab test results, making laboratory professionals indispensable, even as they face growing staffing shortages.
Current Challenges
Staffing Shortages: With only 335,500 clinical lab professionals as of 2020 and vacancy rates from 7 to 25 percent, demand for lab workers continues to grow.
Talent Pipeline Issues: There is a widespread lack of awareness of the profession among potential candidates, declining training programs, fewer than 240 remain in the U.S., and high exit rates among experienced professionals that outpace the entry of new talent.
Education and Costs: Earning a medical laboratory science degree and certification typically requires five years of education and training, with the average cost of obtaining the degree reaching approximately $100,000.
Burnout and Job Dissatisfaction: 85.3 percent of lab professionals report burnout, with inadequate staffing and excessive workload as the primary causes. The Great Resignation further complicated the issue of retention during and after the pandemic.
Solutions and Opportunities
Awareness and Recruitment: Increasing public awareness of the profession and highlighting competitive salaries and clear career paths are essential first steps.
Education and Retention: Addressing starting salary disparities compared to other healthcare roles and ensuring adequate training opportunities will make the career more attractive to new entrants.
Technological Interventions: The best laboratory information system software streamlines operations, reduces manual workflows, and actively mitigates the impact of staffing shortages.
MedCity News Article Linked Here: More Talent and Technology Offer Solutions for Medical Laboratory Staffing Shortages
Part Two: What Steps Need to Be Taken Now to Reverse the Negative Trend?
LigoLab also interviewed Dr. Crawford to gain deeper insight into the challenges highlighted in the MedCity News article. Below are key takeaways from that conversation, along with a link to the full article.
The Scope of the Challenge
Impact of Change: Pandemic-driven disruptions have led to unpredictable service demands, supply chain issues, and workforce stress. Medical laboratory scientists perform over 14 billion tests annually across 260,000 CLIA-certified labs in the U.S., yet laboratory services account for just 3 percent of annual U.S. healthcare expenditures.
Staffing Shortage Magnitude: The U.S. is short 20,000 to 25,000 lab technologists, with only one technologist per 1,000 citizens. The workforce faces an aging population, high turnover, and fewer young entrants.
Strategies for Improvement
Awareness and Recruitment: Enhancing professional visibility through strategic outreach and engagement with educational pipelines, while emphasizing advancement and leadership opportunities, is essential to developing the next generation of laboratory professionals.
Competitive Salaries: Addressing salary disparities is essential for attracting and retaining top talent in a competitive healthcare labor market.
Process Improvement and Technology: Standardizing laboratory software systems, including LIS software platforms, equipment, and operational procedures, helps improve efficiency and consistency across the organization. For example, the best laboratory information system software enhances performance by automating workflows, reducing errors, and minimizing manual processes. Some, such as the LigoLab Informatics Platform, can deliver an all-in-one medical LIS and laboratory billing solution with customizable workflows, advanced automation, and integrated lab revenue cycle management (lab RCM) capabilities designed to help laboratories maximize resources and accomplish more with less.
Leadership Development: Cultivating leadership roles to replace retiring professionals and guide the next generation is essential for the long-term health of the industry.
Discover More: What Caused the Current Shortage of Medical Laboratory Technologists and What Steps Need to Be Taken to Solve the Problem
Part Three: Highlighting a Customer on the Right Track
How Avero Diagnostics Scaled With LigoLab During the Pandemic
Bri Spencer, Molecular Lab Manager at Avero Diagnostics, has described how LigoLab’s comprehensive informatics platform, featuring an integrated laboratory information system with lab revenue cycle management and direct-to-consumer lab testing modules, enabled Avero to rapidly scale its molecular PCR testing operations to process more than 20,000 specimens per day during the height of pandemic-driven demand.
The Staffing Challenge Context
Testing organizations nationwide continue to face high workforce vacancy rates, and lab professionals identify modern laboratory information systems as critical to improving efficiency and reducing manual processes.
LIS Systems and Automation as Solutions
Advanced laboratory information systems streamline diagnostic workflows by managing data, tracking specimens, and automating processes. Automated labs address staffing shortages by minimizing manual tasks and adapting to increased demand while maintaining accuracy.
Avero Diagnostics: Key Innovations and Results
Challenges and Response: Faced with COVID-19-driven demand and staffing shortages, Avero processed over 20,000 specimens daily at peak capacity, leveraging LigoLab's laboratory information system and the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal to scale operations and enhance efficiency.
Key Innovations:
- Automation eliminated manual order entry and cleared bottlenecks in specimen accessioning.
- A proprietary interface engine enabled rapid integration of new analyzers and robotics, significantly increasing throughput.
- TestDirectly empowered patients with self-registration, scheduling, and digital report access (consumer lab reports), reducing turnaround times while easing administrative workloads.
Results:
- Processed over one million tests in the first year of the pandemic.
- Achieved 98 percent case reporting to patients and stakeholders within 24 hours of specimen receipt.
- Maintained partnerships with public health departments, government agencies, and private organizations to support widespread testing efforts.
What Avero's Success Demonstrates
The Avero-LigoLab partnership highlights the role of innovation and advanced LIS systems technology in addressing labor shortages and operational inefficiencies. The shift toward automated labs and patient-centric laboratory software systems is essential for these organizations to remain effective during crises and beyond.
Discover More: The Best Laboratory Information System Software and Its Role in Overcoming Laboratory Staffing Challenges
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Frequently Asked Questions About Laboratory Staffing Challenges and the Best Laboratory Information System Software Solutions
How severe is the laboratory staffing shortage in the U.S.?
The United States faces a shortage of approximately 20,000 to 25,000 laboratory technologists, with vacancy rates ranging from 7 to 25%. The demand for qualified lab professionals continues to outpace supply as experienced workers retire or leave the field faster than new talent enters the workforce.
What are the main causes of lab staffing shortages?
Key causes include a lack of public awareness of the profession, declining training programs, high education costs averaging $100,000 for a medical science degree, lower starting salaries than in other healthcare roles, and widespread burnout, with 85.3 percent of lab professionals reporting burnout due to understaffing and excessive workloads.
How can the best laboratory information system software help labs cope with staffing shortages?
The best laboratory information system software automates repetitive manual tasks across the entire lab workflow, from order entry and specimen tracking to result verification and report distribution. Advanced LIS software enables existing staff to handle higher testing volumes without proportional headcount increases, reducing errors and maintaining accuracy even during periods of high demand.
What results did Avero Diagnostics achieve using LigoLab's LIS software platform during COVID-19?
Avero processed over 20,000 specimens daily at peak capacity and more than one million tests in the first year of the pandemic, with 98% of cases reported to patients and stakeholders within 24 hours. LigoLab's LIS system automation eliminated order entry bottlenecks, and the TestDirectly portal reduced administrative workload while improving the patient experience.
What is TestDirectly, and how did it help Avero manage staffing pressure?
TestDirectly is LigoLab's direct-to-consumer lab testing portal. It enabled Avero's patients to self-register, schedule appointments, and access digital reports, reducing the manual administrative burden on lab staff while maintaining fast turnaround times and high accuracy during unprecedented testing volumes.
What process improvements do industry experts recommend for labs facing staffing challenges?
Both Suren Avunjian and Dr. James Crawford are advocates for standardizing laboratory software systems and equipment, adopting modern laboratory information systems to automate workflows, expanding awareness and recruitment efforts for the profession, addressing compensation gaps, and building strong leadership pipelines to prepare for the retirement of experienced laboratory professionals.
Is technology alone enough to solve the lab staffing crisis?
No. Technology is only one component of a larger solution. Industry experts stress that laboratories must also tackle salary disparities, raise public awareness of the profession, rebuild and expand training programs, and invest in leadership development alongside implementing the best laboratory information system software. Combined, these efforts give laboratory leaders the strongest opportunity to sustain and strengthen their essential role in healthcare.
