Laboratory Information Systems vs. Electronic Health Record Systems - Which is the Best Choice for My Hospital Lab?

Is leadership at your hospital or health system actively comparing and contrasting the merits of laboratory information systems vs. electronic health record systems and how they support core pathology and clinical lab functions? 

If so, this blog post is definitely for you.

While EHR and laboratory information system software share some similar features, this blog explains why only one is purpose-built to truly support pathologists, medical directors, and lab teams, setting the foundation for a more efficient and scalable future. 

Discover More: Pathology Lab Management Guide - Best Laboratory Information System Software and Practices

EHR Systems are Holistic; LIS Systems are Purpose-Built

Let’s begin with a quick overview of what electronic health record and laboratory information system platforms are before comparing them directly.

EHR Systems: Built to provide a complete view of patient information by collecting and integrating data from multiple healthcare providers and systems. They cover a broad range of functions, including patient demographics, medical history, medications, physician notes, imaging, laboratory billing, and lab results.

LIS Systems: Purpose-built to manage every aspect of laboratory operations, from test ordering and specimen tracking to automated analysis and result reporting. These pathology lab management systems focus specifically on the laboratory environment, optimizing accuracy, workflow efficiency, and data management.

Both EHR and medical LIS systems play vital roles in healthcare, but their core purposes are distinct. When integrated effectively, they complement each other to improve efficiency, accuracy, and patient outcomes across the care continuum.

Discover More: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Pathology Software for Your Lab

LIS Systems: Tailored Laboratory Workflow Management and Feature-Rich Solutions 

Now, let’s examine why relying on an EHR system to manage both EHR and laboratory information system functions in a hospital laboratory can be a costly mistake.

Consider the example of a hospital-based laboratory within a large health system that recently faced this exact decision. With its existing lab information system nearing end-of-life, the lab needed a modern replacement; one capable of supporting a broader growth strategy that included:

• Improving quality, turnaround times, and operational flexibility
• Expanding community outreach testing to create new revenue streams
• Enhancing tracking for sendout and reference testing
• Strengthening anatomic pathology workflows and client services
• Reducing IT and overall operating costs, including staffing expenses

To find the best fit, the lab formed a pathology software selection committee, performed thorough market research, and ultimately narrowed its search to two contenders: a leading EHR provider and a leading LIS system platform.

Discover More: How to Set Up a Committee to Select a Laboratory Information System

Head-to-Head Comparison Yields a Clear Choice 

After narrowing the options to two finalists, the hospital-based lab took a closer look at each system’s functionality and capabilities to determine which would best support both its current needs and long-term goals.

Here’s what the lab found during its head-to-head evaluation.

Outreach Support 

• The EHR system wasn’t designed to support out-patient cases and didn’t have an outreach portal. 

• The LIS system was designed for inpatient and outpatient support and included powerful diagnostic lab software tools such as an outreach portal, to improve the marketability of the lab. 

Laboratory Billing/Lab Revenue Cycle Management Functionality 

• The EHR system lacked several key capabilities: it couldn’t handle cross-coding for both ambulatory and inpatient lab billing, offered no CPT code consolidation, and required an additional system for client billing.
• In contrast, the LIS software platform provided complete support for TC/PC splits, fully automated client billing, and seamless integration with the hospital’s charge codes.

Cost and Resource Requirements 

• The EHR system implementation would be more expensive and come with high licensing fees and hardware costs. It would also be resource-intensive, requiring significant time and effort from lab personnel. 

• The LIS company offered a more cost-effective implementation and maintenance plan, a simpler implementation process, and a partnership LIS model with tiered pricing options for licensing. 

Learning Curve and User Experience

• The EHR system presented a steep learning curve with a complex, less intuitive interface that would require extensive training.
• By comparison, the LIS system platform featured a more user-friendly, intuitive design, with comprehensive training included in the implementation process and available on demand.

Integration and Customization 

• The proposed EHR system would operate separately from the hospital’s main EHR, limiting interoperability with other departments and third-party systems. It also lacked flexibility, making customization both difficult and expensive, and required ongoing vendor support for even minor changes.
• Alternatively, the LIS lab platform featured a robust integration engine that excelled in interoperability. It provided seamless connectivity, a flexible and easily customizable framework, and a proven track record of successful integrations with the same EHR system under consideration.

Vendor Dependency

• With the EHR system, the lab would remain heavily dependent on the vendor for updates, support, and any customizations.
• With the laboratory information system platform, the lab would gain greater independence and control, along with comprehensive, readily available support.

Customization and Flexibility 

• The EHR system had a rigid framework and a slow, cumbersome customization process.
• The medical LIS platform, on the other hand, was highly adaptable and better equipped to support the lab’s unique workflows.

Standardization

• The EHR’s standardized design restricted the lab’s ability to customize the software to its specific needs.
• The LIS system platform excelled here, providing a flexible pathology lab management solution that could be fully tailored to the lab’s unique configurations and workflows.

Client Portal

• As mentioned earlier, the EHR system lacked a crucial feature for lab outreach, a portal that enables remote order entry, result delivery, search functionality, and supply ordering.
• By comparison, the LIS lab platform included a modern, fully integrated portal that supports all these capabilities, giving clients secure remote access for orders, results, and supply management.

Discover More: LigoLab’s Provider Portal Facilitates Faster Order Processing and Improved Turnaround Times

Customer Support 

• The EHR system also fell short in this area. During market research, the hospital-based lab learned of inconsistent support quality, delayed response times, and unresolved issues. It also became clear that the EHR would likely require outside consultants for effective setup and customization.
• By comparison, the LIS software vendor provided dedicated customer support with deep laboratory expertise, along with guaranteed uptime, prompt response, and timely resolution, all verified by existing LIS users during the lab’s evaluation process.

Discover More: Stability and Performance - The Two Most Important Aspects of a Modern Laboratory Operation

Other Key Laboratory Information System Functions 

The lab information system platform earned high marks from the lab’s sales and reporting teams for its advanced tracking dashboards, robust reporting templates, and automated distribution tools.

When it came to workflow mapping, the LIS system demonstrated strong support not only for anatomic pathology but also for women’s health and other ancillary testing. It also included a send-out module that seamlessly integrates with reference labs to track specimens and procedures, automatically populating requisition forms with case-specific data.

Additionally, the LIS featured a customer service module to monitor and resolve all quality assurance and quality improvement issues.

While not all of these capabilities were essential to core operations, the combination of these LIS-specific advantages, along with its superior performance in every head-to-head comparison, made it clear that the LIS system platform was the right fit for this hospital-based lab.

In this case, the lab was fortunate to have a strong voice in the decision-making process. Its leadership, positioned at the C-suite level, built a compelling operational and financial argument for choosing a purpose-built medical laboratory information system over a generalized EHR solution. They demonstrated that any perceived gains in enterprise-wide integration would be outweighed by the loss of autonomy, specialized functionality, and new revenue opportunities.

White Paper: Summit Pathology - Achieving Laboratory Profitability Amidst Operational Pressures

Transform Your Hospital Laboratory Operations with LigoLab’s Modern LIS System Solutions 

With shrinking reimbursements, staffing shortages, mounting regulations, and rising client turnover threatening long-term stability, hospital laboratories must act now to address inefficiencies, remove growth barriers, and keep pace with rapid technological change.

For labs still operating on legacy LIS systems and struggling with data silos and integrity issues, LigoLab provides a powerful alternative, an all-in-one medical LIS and laboratory billing platform built for flexibility, scalability, and long-term success.

LigoLab’s single-source-of-truth platform:

• Streamlines and standardizes operations
• Enhances interoperability and data sharing
• Automates workflows to eliminate bottlenecks
• Strengthens compliance and reduces risk
• Boosts competitiveness and market reputation
• Supports client retention and new business growth
• Scales efficiently to future-proof both operations and finances

Discover More: Comparing LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information System Software

In addition to modern laboratory information system functions capable of transforming a struggling lab into a thriving profit center, LigoLab offers tiered pricing options uniquely designed to cater to all medical laboratory types, sizes, and complexities. 

LigoLab understands every laboratory has specific needs, workflows, and growth plans, and a one-size-fits-all laboratory information system software solution will always fall short of delivering the maximum value.

Ready to modernize your lab?

Connect with a LigoLab product specialist today to explore how a comprehensive, flexible pathology lab management platform - and an aligned partnership model - can help your organization streamline operations, strengthen financial performance, and accelerate growth.

Act Now: Contact a LigoLab Product Specialist