Blog
It’s Time for Medical Labs to Embrace the Potential of Laboratory Informatics
January 30, 2026
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines laboratory informatics as the “specialized application of information technology to enable and enhance scientific processes and the delivery of laboratory information, helping to ensure high-quality and reliable data and results.”
In layman’s terms, a medical laboratory that’s fully committed to the successful transformation of laboratory informatics will be able to handle large volumes of patient and specimen data, integrate advanced technologies, streamline operational and financial lab workflow, meet all compliance requirements, and improve both client relations and patient care.
Industry Insights: Process Improvement and Advanced Technology to Help Relieve Laboratory Staffing Burden
Informatics Start With Advanced Laboratory Information System Software
The role of laboratory informatics is becoming increasingly vital as healthcare processes and data continue to grow in complexity and volume. Efficiently managing staff, clinical lab workflow, and data is essential to ensure that healthcare providers can quickly and seamlessly access the information they need to diagnose conditions and make timely treatment decisions.
Laboratory data comes in many forms, including patient demographics, patient samples, test results, and patient history. This data is typically managed by a medical laboratory information system (LIS software).
A laboratory information system software solution records, updates, and stores patient-related information, tracks samples, and generates and distributes lab reports.
Case Study: Summit Pathology - Achieving Laboratory Profitability Amidst Operational Pressures
For medical labs to keep pace with the changing times and the added demands on their businesses, investing in a robust, modern LIS system software that brings innovation into their labs is imperative. Without it, the labs will struggle with efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility.
They’ll struggle because legacy LIS systems dating back 10 years or more will lack several features and vital functionality that come standard in modern clinical and pathology LIS systems. These modern laboratory workflow management solutions are much better at serving as mission-critical systems of record and single sources of truth for many reasons.
For a closer look at the stark differences between the best laboratory information system software and rigid, outdated legacy LIS systems, click below.
Discover More: Comparing LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information Systems
Examples of Advanced Laboratory Information Systems
Now that we’ve established the importance of a modern medical laboratory information system and its critical role in enhancing lab informatics, let’s dive deeper and highlight specific examples of how an advanced lab information system promotes overall lab value by effectively integrating cutting-edge technology into a laboratory setting.
Discover More: Why Laboratory Leaders Are Re‑Thinking Their LIS Strategy in 2026 - and Where LigoLab Fits
Sample Tracking
A pathology specimen tracking system/ lab sample management system comes standard with an advanced LIS software platform, offering comprehensive, error-free sample tracking capabilities. From collection to test results, the laboratory information system ensures that every sample is accounted for and processed correctly.
Gone are the days of missing or misidentified samples that result in delayed turnaround times. Those challenges are eliminated with a modern sample tracking system that automatically generates a unique identifier as a test is ordered, connects directly with barcode printing devices, and delivers end-to-end traceability, including complete tracking for samples associated with batch orders.
Get Insight: How Specimen Tracking Software Improves Efficiency and Reduces the Chance for Diagnostic Errors
Rules and Automation
The best laboratory information system software platforms feature rule configuration functionality. By stringing together rules that lead to a logical conclusion, automation is created to eliminate repetitive manual tasks.
This automation significantly increases efficiency and reduces errors. Also noteworthy, automation helps with another ongoing problem within lab circles: the ongoing shortage of qualified lab personnel.
Discover More: Automation in Labs Using Advanced LIS System Software
Interfacing With Laboratory Software Systems and Third Parties
Integrating a medical LIS with other laboratory software systems and lab vendors remains a widespread challenge, largely due to a lack of industry standardization and the persistence of older LIS system platforms that weren’t built for modern interoperability.
Fortunately, the landscape is shifting as modern clinical and anatomic pathology software systems outperform legacy platforms by delivering far greater interoperability. Today’s LIS systems can seamlessly connect with lab analyzers, electronic health records (EHRs), state registries, and third-party applications with far less complexity than in the past.
Equipped with a robust interface engine, a modern LIS medical solution supports all major data exchange protocols, including FHIR, HL7, X12, XML, CSV, PDF, Flat File, ASTM, and RESTful APIs, enabling smooth and efficient integration across the healthcare ecosystem.
Get Insight: LigoLab Delivers the LIS System Interoperability Needed to Transform Medical Laboratories into Thriving Businesses
Compliance
Regulations in the healthcare industry are constantly evolving, so not having an adaptable LIS lab solution that prioritizes compliance heightens the lab’s risk of an audit and potential punitive penalties.
Modern LIS systems have ad hoc data query capabilities, compliance verification at every stage, and training and support modules. These capabilities make it significantly easier for laboratories to remain compliant with regulatory requirements and oversight standards.
Discover More: A Detailed Look at How Modern Laboratory Information Systems Fully Support Quality Control
Ad Hoc Data Query Capabilities: This functionality allows laboratory teams to quickly retrieve and analyze critical operational and clinical data when unexpected questions, audits, or investigations arise. Staff can generate precise, targeted reports without delay, enabling fast and accurate responses. It also gives labs the flexibility to meet new reporting obligations or emerging analytics needs without requiring extensive reconfiguration of the LIS system.
Built-In Compliance Verification Across Workflows: A modern clinical/pathology LIS system includes automated validation rules and control checkpoints that continuously monitor compliance throughout the testing lifecycle, from patient data entry and specimen processing to result reporting, storage, and retrieval. These automated safeguards reduce manual errors and help ensure consistent regulatory adherence at every operational stage.
Training and Ongoing Support: Because compliance requirements evolve, continuous education is essential for lab information system administrators and staff. Advanced LIS software platforms provide embedded training resources and access to expert support teams so users stay current with regulatory updates and best practices.
Alignment with Regulatory Standards: The best LIS are engineered to align with guidance from major oversight authorities. This standards-based design helps laboratories maintain up-to-date operational compliance and lowers the risk of violations or penalties. As regulatory expectations change, modern LIS medical platforms are built to scale and adapt through routine updates and configurable controls.
Industry Insights: Regulators Are Rewriting HIPAA - Survival Guide for Clinical & Pathology Labs
Laboratory Billing and Lab Revenue Cycle Management (Lab RCM)
Laboratory billing and lab revenue cycle management have become mission-critical as laboratories face reimbursement reductions, rising operating expenses, workforce shortages, and increasingly complex payer rules. When legacy LIS system platforms are loosely connected to stand-alone laboratory billing systems, revenue cycle leakage is difficult to avoid because data gaps, timing mismatches, and synchronization failures occur as information passes between systems during the lab billing workflow.
Modern LIS software, such as the LigoLab Medical LIS & Lab RCM Informatics Platform, addresses these integrity risks by embedding RCM cycle workflows directly into the core LIS lab environment, from the moment a test order is created.
Unified Automation That Protects Data Integrity and Accelerates Laboratory Revenue Performance
From order entry forward, LigoLab’s all-in-one informatics platform can automatically perform demographic validation, eligibility verification, claim edits, and assisted ICD and CPT coding. This is possible because the LIS and RCM functions operate on a unified diagnostic lab software architecture and shared database, allowing both modules to run in parallel from the same real-time dataset. The result is consistent, end-to-end data integrity across clinical and financial processes.
These advanced lab RCM capabilities, delivered through an all-in-one informatics platform, help laboratories improve clean claim rates, increase net collections, and shorten accounts receivable cycles.
To explore these lab information systems and laboratory billing capabilities in greater detail, we invite you to continue with the related case study.
Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing
Direct-to-consumer lab testing, where patients order diagnostic tests and receive results directly through the organization’s diagnostic lab software, rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to play a significant role in today’s healthcare landscape.
TestDirectly is a clinical laboratory management software application that enables direct patient interaction for both diagnostic testing and preventive screening. It offers patients convenient and confidential access to lab services, giving direct-to-consumer labs a scalable solution that broadens their offerings and supports the growing trend of consumer-driven healthcare.
Labs relying on legacy LIS lab solutions for consumer-driven healthcare will face significant challenges due to outdated architecture, limited interoperability, and an inability to efficiently manage large volumes of consumer-generated data while ensuring robust data security.
Industry Insights: Consumerism and How Clinical Labs Can Take Advantage of a Growing Trend
Digital Pathology
An increasing number of pathology groups are moving away from traditional glass slides and adopting fully digitized slide workflows. Digital pathology delivers meaningful advantages, including faster turnaround times, improved diagnostic consistency, and easier collaboration among pathologists across locations.
However, laboratories running legacy laboratory information system software struggle to take advantage of these capabilities thanks to interoperability limits and incompatible data formats. Older LIS systems frequently lack the modern interfaces and APIs needed to connect with today’s digital pathology and image management solutions.
By contrast, a modern LIS system built on a flexible architecture supports robust interoperability through standardized interfaces and APIs. These systems are also designed to be configurable and scalable, essential qualities for supporting digital pathology growth, evolving workflows, and high-volume image data management.
Industry Insights: Digital Pathology Redefined - Uniting AI, Viewers, and a Robust LIS System for a Seamless Workflow
Turning Laboratory Information System Insight into Action
Medical laboratories that work with laboratory information system companies delivering modern informatics platforms gain immediate advantages through advanced in-lab technology and long-term value through the operational and analytical insights these systems generate.
The best laboratory information system software closes the divide between informatics and day-to-day operations by tightly connecting data, workflows, and decision support across the organization.
Improved Efficiency: A modern laboratory information system streamlines lab workflow, automates processes, and reduces manual repetitive tasks. All this leads to faster turnaround times, decreased errors, and improved overall efficiency that labs using a legacy LIS system simply can’t match.
Enhanced Data Management: An advanced lab information system ensures data integrity and specimen traceability (at every stage). The medical LIS collates data from multiple sources into a unified database, eliminating the need for manual data entry and its associated errors. It also excels in specimen storage and retrieval, making it much easier for lab personnel to access and analyze the collected data.
Quality Control and Compliance: An advanced LIS system helps medical laboratories remain compliant with built-in quality control measures that ensure consistent, accurate test results and robust audit trails that record all users, actions, and events.
Data Analysis and Interpretation: Modern medical LIS software platforms also include advanced informatics tools that support data analysis and interpretation. Features like interactive dashboards and widgets help labs uncover trends and visualize data clearly, empowering more informed decision-making and more accurate result interpretation.
Integration and Interoperability: A modern laboratory informatics platform includes a purpose-built interface engine that supports all standard exchange protocols and integrates with various analytical instruments and laboratory software systems. The engine facilitates seamless data exchange between departments and external third-party entities such as laboratory billing services and state reporting agencies.
Remote Access and Collaboration: A modern LIS system enables remote access to data and test results, fostering enhanced collaboration opportunities and faster turnaround times.
Enhanced Focus on the Patient: A modern informatics solution supports patient consumerism, a big plus for potential new revenue opportunities. Patients want more control and convenience. Labs that can accommodate this by organizing and presenting laboratory data that is easily understandable for them will be way ahead of the curve.
Laboratory Inventory Management: An advanced laboratory information system can also help manage supplies by tracking inventory and alerting lab leadership when it’s time to order. This type of lab informatics prevents shortages and reduces medical waste.
Two More Important LIS System Benefits to Consider
In addition to what has already been covered, labs that invest in a modern medical laboratory information system and the advanced informatics it provides will also win with customization and cost savings.
Unlike legacy LIS systems, modern LIS software solutions offer highly configurable options that cater to a lab’s specific needs and environment. This level of customization promotes scalability, allowing adaptation and expansion of capabilities to meet new requirements and business opportunities.
Finally, cost considerations are always front and center, which is why investing in a laboratory information system that automates workflows, minimizes errors, and maximizes resource utilization and system connectivity delivers meaningful long-term savings.
Discover More: What You Need to Know Before Contracting with a Laboratory Information System (LIS) Company
Ready to see what optimized LIS automation can do for your lab?
Schedule a demo and start identifying your savings opportunities today.
