Is Your LIS Software System or LIS Vendor Holding Your Laboratory Hostage?

In today’s customer experience-obsessed world, it’s hard to believe that there are still companies that don’t put the needs of customers above all else. Unfortunately, this is a reality that still exists today, and it’s especially true for pathology labs that are in the market for a laboratory information system (LIS) and a LIS software partner that can help them scale their businesses and increase their profit margins. 

“Regularly, we hear from labs that want a new LIS but fear they can’t make the switch because of the associated costs,” said LigoLab CEO Suren Avunjian. “They are being held hostage by their current vendor because they either haven’t seen a return on their initial investment, or competing vendors are just too expensive. This leaves labs feeling stuck, and it forces them to make the best out of a bad situation.”

The good news is that there is a cost-effective alternative for these labs stuck with LIS systems that lack functionality, reliability, scalability, and unresponsive legacy vendors. An alternative that helps them scale and thrive.

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LigoLab takes the customer experience to the next level by offering a future-ready LIS software platform designed to remove barriers to growth and drive market differentiation for its partner laboratories, and a pricing model that doesn’t require any upfront licensing fees. Instead, monthly laboratory testing volumes determine the cost for licensing the software. As volumes increase, the cost-per-test drops, providing the lab with volume discounts. Meanwhile, operational and financial processes improve, enabling the lab to achieve sustainable success without added labor costs, and this creates an opportunity for the lab to expand services, take on more business, and become more profitable.

“LigoLab operates under an aligned revenue model,” added Avunjian. “This means we align our pricing with our customer’s laboratory goals and we’re incentivized to help them become more successful. We don't charge per seat or per module, and we don't nickel and dime our customers on platform features. We fully support our partners and give them an infinitely configurable platform that’s ready-made to address the issues they’re dealing with today, allowing them to quickly adapt by adding more users, revenue channels, interfaces, and services as the laboratory landscape changes.” 

LigoLab’s pricing model is ideal for lab operators looking to part ways with their legacy LIS systems with minimal risk to their operating budgets. With LigoLab, labs are no longer locked into costly licenses or fixed support and maintenance fees. Instead, labs can scale their businesses up without hidden costs and barriers.

LigoLab’s standard upfront fees are limited to a small cost for implementation and training. Data migration from legacy LIS systems and interfacing with EHRs and other electronic devices can add to this, depending on scale and scope. However, these are consultative and not part of an ongoing license or service contract. 

“Our business model is a partnership model, and we truly operate that way,” said Avunjian. “LigoLab isn’t just a software vendor, we are part of our customer’s information systems team.” 

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This commitment to partnership is at the core of what LigoLab represents as a company. Avunjian and co-founder Edward Kharatian created LigoLab in 2006, soon after Healthline Clinical Laboratories, the business they helped grow to be the biggest privately held lab in Southern California, was sold to LabCorp. It was at this pivotal moment that Avunjian and Kharatian decided to go off on their own and create a platform that they would have wanted to use themselves. 

“When I was CIO at Healthline, I sat through tons of presentations and evaluated a lot of different billing and LIS software,” said Kharatian, who also serves as the company’s Medical Director. “It was during these moments that I realized the need for integrated and unified software, especially in the anatomic pathology environment. No other solution on the market had this approach.” 

Ligo is a Latin word that means “to unite or to connect,” and that’s what Edward and Suren set out to do when they started LigoLab. This meant connecting with labs philosophically, technologically, and financially. Merging and integrating lab processes into something whole is just part of what LigoLab does. The other half is connecting with labs on a business level to help them become market differentiators.  

In addition to pricing structures, fear of disruption is another way labs are being held hostage by their existing LIS vendors. This level of fear exists throughout the industry and it’s common for labs to choose pain over potential disruption as they continue to operate with outdated systems.

LigoLab addresses this issue by offering a platform that comes prebuilt with all of the functions and features a lab will ever need. For those rare circumstances where customized development is needed, LigoLab can deliver with a turnaround time that’s measured in minutes and hours, not days, weeks, and months. 

“There are more than 100 laboratory facilities already utilizing LigoLab,” added Avunjian. “This means that 99 percent of the things customers will ask for have already been built. The system is super intuitive, and it helps guide all lab departments, processes, and functions in real-time.”

The architecture behind the LigoLab LIS & RCM Operating Platform allows customers to scale their lab operations much more quickly than they could via other systems. Unlike legacy systems, the platform includes powerful modules for Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Molecular Diagnostics, Revenue Cycle Management, and Direct-to-Consumer, plus supporting modules (specimen tracking and handling, lab outreach, digital pathology, business intelligence, customer relationship management, etc.) and supporting engines (workflow designer, interface engine, reporting and distribution engine, rule and automation engines, voice dictation and control), all united on one integrated software infrastructure. 

Moving away from current systems is a big decision for most laboratories. However, LigoLab makes that decision much easier by offering not just a standard LIS system, but a full laboratory operating platform that eliminates disruption and aligns pricing with laboratory goals.

Comprehensive and Flexible SaaS Solutions for Your Laboratory

As a comprehensive and enterprise-grade SaaS software solution, the LigoLab LIS & RCM Laboratory Operating Platform™ includes modules for AP, CP, MDx, RCM, and Direct-to-Consumer, all on a single integrated infrastructure that’s infinitely configurable and that supports every department, role, and case. 

LigoLab LIS features specimen barcoding and tracking support, a robust and searchable audit trail, compliance verification at every stage, a built-in interface engine, a flexible rule engine, fully customizable reports, and multiple delivery options. With LigoLab, medical laboratories can differentiate themselves in the marketplace, scale their operations efficiently, and become significantly more profitable. 

LigoLab RCM is deeply integrated with LigoLab LIS, and this empowers laboratories to start RCM at order creation with no data silos and no synchronization, providing a real advantage that reduces denials and audit risk and increases net collections. Additionally, LigoLab RCM supports the billing process with real-time verification, eligibility, and scrubbing components, automated ICD and CPT coding, and automated client billing. All RCM processes are seamlessly integrated within LigoLab’s live queue-facilitated workflow, giving users full transparency and end-to-end operational efficiency.