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It’s Time for Medical Labs to Embrace the Potential of Laboratory Informatics
September 1, 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 practical terms, a medical laboratory that fully embraces lab informatics can more effectively manage large volumes of patient and specimen data, integrate advanced technologies, streamline operational and financial workflows, maintain regulatory compliance, and ultimately strengthen client relationships and improve patient care.
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Informatics Starts With Advanced Laboratory Information System Software
Laboratory informatics is becoming increasingly vital as healthcare processes and data grow in both 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 includes a wide range of information, from patient demographics and medical history to specimen details and test results. A modern medical laboratory information system (LIS) software serves as the central platform for managing this data, enabling laboratories to securely record, update, and store patient information, track specimens throughout the testing lifecycle, and generate and distribute accurate lab reports.
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To keep pace with evolving industry demands and increasing operational complexity, diagnostic laboratories must invest in robust, modern LIS systems that support innovation and sustainable growth. Without advanced laboratory information system technology, they’ll struggle to maintain the efficiency, accuracy, scalability, and accessibility needed to remain competitive.
Laboratories relying on legacy information systems that are 10 years old or older face significant limitations because these platforms often lack the advanced features and essential functionality now standard in modern clinical and pathology LIS systems. Today’s laboratory workflow management solutions are better equipped to serve as mission-critical systems of record and centralized sources of truth, providing the connectivity, automation, visibility, and flexibility laboratories need to operate efficiently.
For a closer look at the stark differences between the best laboratory information system software and rigid, outdated legacy LIS medical applications, click the link 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 laboratory information system and its critical role in enhancing lab informatics, let's dive deeper and highlight specific examples of how an advanced medical LIS promotes overall lab value by integrating cutting-edge technology into a laboratory.
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Sample Tracking
A pathology specimen tracking system, or lab sample management system, is a standard component of an advanced LIS software platform, providing comprehensive and accurate specimen tracking throughout the lab workflow. From collection and accessioning through testing and final results, the system helps ensure that every specimen is properly identified, accounted for, and processed.
Modern sample tracking systems significantly reduce the risk of missing or misidentified specimens that can delay turnaround times and disrupt laboratory operations. When a test is ordered, the LIS automatically generates a unique identifier, integrates directly with barcode printers, and provides end-to-end specimen traceability, including complete tracking of 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 include powerful rules-based configuration capabilities. By combining rules that trigger specific actions based on defined conditions, laboratories can automate workflows and eliminate repetitive manual tasks.
This automation improves operational efficiency, reduces the risk of human error, and helps organizations address one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: the ongoing shortage of qualified laboratory professionals. By automating routine processes, advanced LIS software enables existing staff to focus their time and expertise on higher-value responsibilities.
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, healthcare systems, and third-party vendors remains a widespread challenge, largely because of limited industry standardization and the continued use of legacy laboratory information systems that were not designed for modern interoperability.
Fortunately, the landscape is changing. Modern clinical and anatomic pathology software solutions offer significantly greater interoperability, making it easier for laboratories to connect their LIS systems with laboratory analyzers, electronic health records (EHRs), state registries, reference laboratories, billing systems, and other third-party applications.
Today’s advanced medical LIS platforms support major data exchange standards and protocols, including FHIR, HL7, X12, XML, CSV, PDF, Flat File, ASTM, and RESTful APIs, enabling seamless connectivity and efficient data exchange across the healthcare ecosystem.
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Compliance
Healthcare regulations are constantly evolving, making an adaptable LIS lab solution that prioritizes compliance essential. Without one, laboratories face greater audit risk, compliance challenges, and potentially costly penalties.
Modern laboratory information 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.
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Ad Hoc Data Query Capabilities: This functionality enables laboratory teams to quickly retrieve and analyze critical operational and clinical data in response to unexpected questions, audits, or investigations. Staff can generate precise, targeted reports without delay, enabling fast and accurate responses. It also provides laboratories with the flexibility to adapt to new reporting obligations and emerging analytical requirements without extensive LIS system reconfiguration.
Built-In Compliance Verification Across Workflows: A modern clinical laboratory management/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 systems 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.
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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 systems are loosely connected to stand-alone laboratory billing software platforms, 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 all-in-one 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 advanced informatics platform can automatically perform demographic validation, eligibility verification, claim edits, and assisted ICD and CPT coding. This is possible because the interdependent LIS and RCM workflows operate within a unified lab database software architecture, enabling both modules to run on the same real-time dataset. The result is consistent, end-to-end data integrity across clinical and financial processes.
These advanced lab revenue cycle management capabilities, delivered through LigoLab’s comprehensive and flexible informatics platform, help laboratories improve clean claim rates, increase net collections, and shorten accounts receivable cycles.
Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing
Direct-to-consumer lab testing, in which patients order diagnostic tests and receive results 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 gives patients convenient, confidential access to laboratory services while giving direct-to-consumer labs a scalable solution to meet the growing demand for consumer-driven healthcare.
Labs relying on legacy LIS software 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.
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Digital Pathology
Pathology groups are increasingly 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 lack the modern interfaces and APIs needed to seamlessly integrate with digital pathology platforms and image management solutions, limiting laboratories’ ability to fully realize the workflow, efficiency, and diagnostic benefits these technologies offer.
By contrast, modern LIS systems built on flexible architecture support robust interoperability through standardized interfaces and APIs. These systems are also configurable and scalable, essential qualities for supporting the latest digital pathology solutions, evolving workflows, and high-volume image data management.
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Turning Laboratory Information System Insight into Action
Medical laboratories that work with leading laboratory information system companies to deliver modern informatics platforms gain immediate advantages through advanced in-lab technology and long-term value from 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 workflows, automates processes, and reduces repetitive manual tasks. This leads to faster turnaround times, decreased errors, and improved overall efficiency that labs using a legacy LIS system can't match.
- Enhanced Data Management: An advanced lab information system ensures data integrity and specimen traceability (at every stage). Today’s medical LIS collates data from multiple sources into a unified database, eliminating manual data entry and its associated errors. It also streamlines specimen storage and retrieval, making it easier for lab personnel to access and analyze the collected data.
- Quality Control and Compliance: An advanced LIS system helps medical laboratories remain compliant through built-in quality control measures that ensure consistent, accurate test results, and through 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 interpretation of results.
- Integration and Interoperability: A modern laboratory informatics platform includes a purpose-built interface engine that supports all standard exchange protocols and integrates with a range of 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: Modern medical LIS software 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 increasingly expect greater control and convenience when accessing their healthcare information. Laboratories that meet these expectations by organizing and presenting lab data in a clear, accessible, and easy-to-understand format will be well positioned to stay 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 helps prevent shortages and reduce medical waste.
Two More Important Lab Information System Benefits to Consider
Beyond these advantages, laboratories that invest in a modern medical laboratory information system and its advanced informatics capabilities can also benefit from greater customization, scalability, and long-term cost savings.
Unlike legacy LIS systems, modern LIS software solutions offer highly configurable functionality that can be tailored to a laboratory’s specific workflows, requirements, and operating environment. This flexibility supports scalability, enabling labs to adapt existing workflows, expand capabilities, and respond more efficiently to new requirements and business opportunities.
Cost is also a critical consideration. By automating workflows, reducing errors and manual intervention, optimizing staff and other resources, and improving connectivity across the laboratory ecosystem, a modern laboratory information system can lower operational costs while delivering greater value over the platform’s lifespan.
Discover More: What You Need to Know Before Contracting with a Laboratory Information System (LIS) Company
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Frequently Asked Questions About Laboratory Informatics
What is laboratory informatics?
The CDC defines laboratory informatics as the specialized application of information technology to enable and enhance scientific processes and the delivery of laboratory information, thereby ensuring high-quality, reliable data and results.
What are some key examples of advanced medical LIS capabilities?
Examples include automated sample tracking with unique identifiers and barcoding, rules-based workflow automation, broad interoperability with EHRs and instruments via protocols like HL7 and FHIR, built-in compliance verification, integrated lab billing, direct-to-consumer lab testing support, and digital pathology connectivity.
How does a modern LIS system support regulatory compliance?
Modern LIS systems offer ad hoc data query capabilities for audits, built-in compliance verification checkpoints throughout the testing lifecycle, embedded training and support resources, and alignment with major regulatory standards that scale with changing requirements.
Why does integrating LIS and RCM matter for revenue performance?
When LIS and laboratory billing systems are only loosely connected, data gaps and synchronization failures create revenue leakage. A unified platform embeds RCM workflows into the LIS from the moment an order is created, improving clean claim rates and shortening accounts receivable cycles.
How does a modern LIS system support direct-to-consumer lab testing?
Platforms like TestDirectly integrate with leading LIS systems and enable direct patient interaction for ordering tests and receiving results, offering a scalable, secure solution for the growing consumer-driven healthcare trend that legacy systems struggle to support.
Why do legacy LIS systems struggle with digital pathology?
Older LIS systems lack the modern interfaces and APIs needed to connect to digital pathology and image management tools. In contrast, modern LIS systems support standardized interfaces designed for high-volume image data and evolving workflows.
What overall benefits does a modern LIS system provide to a lab?
Benefits include improved efficiency, enhanced data management, stronger quality control and compliance, better data analysis through dashboards, broader interoperability, remote access and collaboration, a stronger patient focus, and even inventory management, along with greater customization and long-term cost savings.
