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Comparing the LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information System Software
April 15, 2025
Clinical and reference laboratories, including those that support molecular lab testing, and anatomic pathology groups continue to take the pain associated with rigid, legacy laboratory information systems (LIS systems) that lack the functionality and flexibility to tackle today’s growing challenges.
That’s a shame and unnecessary because multiple disparate laboratory software systems and their inherent data silos can be replaced with modern all-in-one laboratory information system software solutions like the LigoLab Medical LIS & Lab RCM Informatics Platform.
Those in the know understand that the best laboratory information system software helps organizations operate more effectively by automating core processes and providing real-time insight into operational and financial performance.
Join us as we compare the comprehensive and flexible LigoLab Informatics Platform that covers all aspects of LIS lab workflow, including laboratory billing, against legacy LIS system software alternatives.
The goal is to help you understand the differences and choose the best LIS system for your laboratory business.
Learn More: Best LIS Software - Maximize Growth With Cutting Edge Pathology Lab Management Software
The Overall LIS Software Platform
The LigoLab platform is an all-in-one pathology lab management system that includes modules for anatomic pathology (LIS pathology), clinical laboratory (medical LIS), molecular diagnostics (molecular LIS), laboratory revenue cycle management (lab RCM), and direct-to-consumer lab testing (TestDirectly and TestDirectly.com).
All laboratory information system functions and modules share the same database and infrastructure, producing the most future-ready and dynamic pathology lab software available while powering labs to modernize and efficiently scale.
With legacy laboratory information systems, it’s a given that the modules for anatomic pathology and clinical laboratory won’t share the same pathology software infrastructure, and there is no lab revenue cycle management/lab billing module. Because of this, these outdated LIS systems are subject to data silos and inconsistencies that inevitably come with dependence on multiple laboratory software systems.
LigoLab users also enjoy the maximum interoperability that comes with LigoLab’s proprietary interface engine, plus the configurability that comes with embedded and intuitive rule and automation engines that empower clients to make changes on their own and without LIS company assistance, helping them streamline their laboratory workflow management and satisfy client preferences.
Learn More: How Best Practices and Advanced Laboratory Information System Technology Help Ensure Lab Workflow Management
Laboratory Information System Upfront Cost
LigoLab deeply aligns with its lab partners in terms of cost, offering aligned pricing tiers and a heavily subsidized package for training and implementation. The tiered pricing accounts for the lab’s current finances and budget, making its all-encompassing lab information system solution attractive to startups and established enterprise organizations.
Learn More: LigoLab’s New Tiered Pricing Model for its LIS Software Platform Delivers a Tailored Fit and Maximum Value
This LIS lab pricing includes no limits on seats, modules, upgrades, and support - with support covering assistance with report template configuration and platform rules if needed (and well beyond go-live). This represents a big advantage for a lab planning to grow and scale its operations efficiently.
Legacy LIS systems that run on outdated lab pathology software are known for having considerably higher upfront costs (hundreds of thousands of dollars higher), and this doesn’t include all the hidden fees the lab will encounter for adding seats and modules as it scales.
Scaling can also be a problem in this scenario as support from legacy LIS software vendors will likely be an additional hidden cost, and a timely response is not guaranteed.
Learn More: What to Look Out for and Avoid When Shopping for a New LIS System
Laboratory Information System Customer Service and Support
For customer service and tech support, comparing LigoLab’s modern offering against legacy laboratory information system companies can be summarized as proactive vs. rigid.
LigoLab is interested in long-term and mutually profitable partnerships with its LIS lab customers. As experienced laboratory information system vendors, they back up this core value with constant improvements to the informatics platform.
Three to five newly developed features and laboratory information system functions are added to the LigoLab platform every day, thus ensuring future laboratory success by delivering unprecedented market differentiation and efficiencies to eliminate growing pains.
This improvement level also demands an expert medical LIS support team, and LigoLab delivers by offering unlimited 24/7 coverage and client enrollment in its Continual Service Improvement (CSI) program.
CSI is a forum where a specialized team regularly checks with LigoLab customers to reevaluate overall pathology lab management, remove bottlenecks, and suggest process improvements and best practices. The LigoLab team proactively monitors the health of servers, diagnostic lab software configurations, and usage to prevent downtime and offer valuable insights.
Instead of implementing a legacy medical LIS that won’t age well, LigoLab users get a future-ready laboratory information system backed by best-in-class development and support.
Learn More: The Four Most Important Things to Consider When Modernizing a Laboratory
Laboratory Information System Companies and Ownership
LigoLab is a privately owned LIS software company that only answers to its customers. It focuses on referral-based partnerships, inbound leads, and accessibility, and this reachable and accountable approach goes well beyond the support team and into the C-suite.
Legacy laboratory information system companies are typically owned by private equity groups that answer to shareholders, and marketing for these LIS systems tends to be heavily outbound.
Laboratory Workflow Management: Accessioning
One of the key ways LigoLab sets itself apart from legacy LIS systems is through its modern, streamlined approach to specimen accessioning.
With the legacy pathology LIS systems, if an error is made during the accessioning of a case, it cannot be corrected after the requisition has been submitted. The only remedy is to amend the document, and the process is neither simple nor fast.
With LigoLab, there is a concept of tags and lab workflow actions, and these elements are highly configurable. For example, this LigoLab feature allows the accessioner to share an identified issue with anyone who might interact with a particular case and specimen downstream.
Tags add attributes or flags that can be tracked for quality assurance and quality control purposes (for example, a case accessioned without a patient's birth date). Lab workflow actions require a resolution or follow-up by the customer service team before the task can be removed from the workflow actions queue (for example, a laboratory billing process/RCM cycle issue like missing insurance), and these actions can be assigned to certain users or teams.
It’s also important to note that neither the tags nor the workflow actions will stop the specimen from continuing to the next step in the LIS lab workflow (grossing, histology, etc.).
For instance, if there’s a workflow action that’s been added to the case to alert users about a missing patient demographic in the report, the case will continue through processing and the pathologist’s diagnosis but then be held in the workflow action queue until the patient demographic issue is resolved.
Once resolved, the PDF report will be regenerated to include the missing info before distribution.
Learn More: A Detailed Look at How Modern Laboratory Information Systems Fully Support Quality Control
Laboratory Workflow Management: Sample Tracking
With LigoLab as your pathology lab software provider, full traceability of the specimen, awareness of specimen hierarchy, and transparency into the case life cycle are all possible. Each specimen receives a unique barcode ID with the LIS system software designed for a “just-in-time” workflow with built-in specimen validation and security, making it virtually impossible to lose or mislabel a specimen.
With legacy pathology lab report software, there simply isn’t this level of logic around specimens, and pulling data related to sample tracking can be problematic. This makes it likely that searching for a specimen and its identification in storage will be difficult.
Additionally, with LigoLab, users can create real-time reports and dashboards that track laboratory productivity metrics and identify bottlenecks. Lab directors and managers can easily track and dissect the data to get a true read on the lab’s productivity at both a high level and a granular level, no matter which stage of the lab workflow is highlighted.
Learn More: How Specimen Tracking Software Improves Efficiency and Reduces the Chance for Diagnostic Errors
Laboratory Information System Report Customization
LigoLab’s comprehensive bundle of medical LIS software features includes flexible lab report customization capabilities. The driving force behind this functionality is a report-building template engine that customers can use to fully customize lab reports based on the client’s preferences, with no added cost.
“The report customization options with LigoLab are simply much more robust.”
That’s according to a lab technician familiar with the LigoLab platform and a leading legacy lab information system.
“With the legacy LIS system, the report templates were quite basic and didn’t vary from client to client,” she said. “They mostly consisted of free text and included a default location for a customer’s logo.”
The lab tech added that - unlike the LigoLab option - there was no differentiation between the anatomical pathology software laboratory report templates and clinical laboratory report templates stored within the legacy LIS.
Industry Insights: Empowering Laboratories: The Benefits of Full Agency Over LIS System Configuration
Laboratory Information System and Ease of Navigation
With LigoLab, there’s never a reason to leave the LIS system software application and open another pathology software system because it's an all-in-one LIS software solution for anatomic, clinical, and molecular lab workflow, and navigating from one module to the next is just a click away.
Legacy LIS systems rely on separate, siloed modules that can't run concurrently, limiting efficiency and workflow integration.
“To go from one module to the other, you have to close the program, go into the registry, change a key, and relaunch,” said the lab tech while referencing a personal experience.
Learn More: Navigating the Future of Pathology: The LigoLab Advantage
The Anatomic Pathology Software Module and How it Supports Specific Roles
The LigoLab anatomic pathology software module is intuitively built to support the various roles of pathology laboratory workflow management with queue-based logic that assigns specific tasks to specific departments.
For example, the grossing tech and the pathologist each have designated queues and areas to work from, with each queue representing a different stage as the specimen goes from accessioning and through processing until the release of the final report.
“These queues are live and based on the job description for each role in the lab workflow. No matter the role, you know exactly what you need to do with LigoLab’s platform,” said the lab tech.
“With the legacy LIS system I used in the past, this level of support for each role and each department simply did not exist,” she said.
Learn More: LigoLab’s Intuitive Grossing Workstation Window
Laboratory Information System Automation
Both laboratory information systems compared by the lab tech have the concept of rules and allow users to enhance productivity through automation. However, the legacy LIS system is much more complicated and requires several more steps to set up.
Setting up automation is much easier with LigoLab’s LIS, as technical or software development expertise is not required. Tasks are triggered based on real-world scenarios and logical conditions, making the setup intuitive and efficient.
According to the lab tech, LigoLab stands apart from legacy LIS systems by streamlining automation and achieving results with fewer rules.
Industry Insights: Bridging the Gap in Modern Laboratories: Why a Comprehensive Digital Platform Outperforms a Basic Lab Information System
Laboratory Information System User Permissions
With LigoLab, only those users with administrative access can delete orders. That’s typically not the case with legacy laboratory information systems, where a simple mistake like the accidental deletion of a requisition can leave the entire laboratory scrambling.
Learn More: Automate Complex Processes & Simplify Clinical Lab Operations with the LigoLab Informatics Platform
Laboratory Information System Site Security
Legacy pathology LIS systems also typically lack site security - a must-have for multi-facility lab operations.
“Without this, a lab manager would have no way of knowing what belongs to each facility unless it’s manually tracked,” added the lab tech.
This is another area where LigoLab excels, as its LIS lab solution can be configured to support multi-facility operations, enabling each site to see only what it needs to see.
In this scenario, access to both facilities is limited to those with global site access permission.
Learn More: LigoLab’s Enhanced Cybersecurity Solutions Give Customers Added Protection and Peace of Mind
Laboratory Information System Comparison Conclusion
After reading this comparison, it’s clear that there is a difference between legacy laboratory information systems and modern LIS systems like the LigoLab platform, and the differences go way beyond the laboratory information system functions.
Savvy lab leaders understand that switching mission-critical LIS systems isn’t something you do often and that success starts with choosing the right partner, not just a vendor. They look for an LIS company fully aligned with their goals, offering the integrated tools and support needed to accelerate growth, maximize profitability, and confidently scale.
Ready to scale your laboratory faster? Give LigoLab 15 minutes, and our product experts will show you how to break through growth barriers and stand out in your respective marketplace.
Click here to schedule a brief consultation with a product specialist and start your LigoLab journey.
