Laboratory Management: 2020 Guide - Best Laboratory Information System Software and Best Practices

What’s the point of having the best laboratory information system solutions and best practices if you don’t share them with others?

At LigoLab, we’ve been helping anatomic pathology, clinical laboratory, and molecular diagnostics laboratories grow and thrive since 2006. Over the past 14 years, we’ve collaborated with some of the most dynamic and forward-thinking laboratories in the country, and over that time we’ve gained an expertise in the laboratory information system software domain.

We maintain regular contact with our partner labs and we take great pride in the fact that our platform continues to evolve daily, helping them deliver new and better ways to serve their customers and support patient care. In turn, these same labs are constantly evaluating their own workflows and processes. Nothing is static. 

This blog post will be the first in a series of posts that will highlight the challenges labs continue to face, plus the best laboratory information system software solutions these labs have employed to better serve their customers and grow their businesses. 

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A few weeks back, we asked several of our partner labs to participate in a four-question survey. Here is a sample of the results from Question No. 1:

What recent changes incorporated into your laboratory’s workflow have made the biggest difference in terms of efficiency and throughput?

Shamim A. (LIS Administrator- San Diego, CA)

The biggest change we’ve made to our workflow has been increased usage of the Send-out Module and reworking our CPT generation.

The Send-out Module is used more often now after we've added a few clients that require further testing sent to reference labs. This has led to the implementation of various report template macros, an addendum process, and the creation of dynamic reports to easily track the additional testing ordered on cases that have been sent out. This has made a huge difference in terms of tracking cases and has been very useful to us.

Initially, we had CPT generation configured on a lab test basis, but with increased Surgical and Non-Gyn work in the last year, it made more sense to consolidate CPT generation on a site-by-site basis. Wherever it was possible we simplified the grossing process by tying in multiple fields to the operation performed on a given specimen (i.e. fine-needle aspiration, biopsy, etc.). Depending upon the specimen type, different operations will generate CPTs and other associated templates accordingly. This has greatly customized and simplified the grossing process and we've also tied in this CPT automation into our send-out processes where applicable.

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Darlene S. (Project Manager - Tampa, FL)

The addition of LIS specimen tracking functionality to manage cases. We are now able to track the entire life-cycle of cases and all the specimens associated with them from Order Entry to Grossing, Processing, Embedding, Microtome, Staining, Histology Case Assembly, Case Distribution, Case Sign-out, and Archival.  

Roxane R. (Chief Administrative Officer - Baton Rouge, LA)

‍Barcoded specimens, cassettes, and slides in Histology. In addition to creating specimen security and tracking, elimination of the manual labor associated with the histology process increased our efficiency and eliminated the manual labeling errors.

Steve F. (LIS Administrator - Santa Fe Springs, CA)

‍Batch Scanning to a worklist in our Microbiology Department. This allows our Micro Techs to scan in the samples that they have in front of them to a worklist, versus the way they were doing it before, which was trying to locate the sample from a queue and add it to a worklist.

Pam E. (Billing Analyst - Pensacola, FL)

We brought LEAN methodology into our practice to help with efficiency and reduce waste.

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If you’re a lab operator and would like to participate in this study, reach me directly at michaelk@LigoLab.com. We’d enjoy hearing from you and getting your perspective, too. Our next post will focus on the challenges, frustrations, and obstacles holding back laboratory growth.

LigoLab Information System is the leading provider of an innovative laboratory management software solution that meets the diverse needs of molecular, clinical, and anatomic pathology laboratories nationwide, driving efficiency, performance, and growth.

Contact us here to schedule a demonstration and experience how a fully integrated LIS & RCM platform can unite and transform your lab’s financial, administrative, and technical operations.