Say Goodbye to Laboratory Cheat Sheets With Tags and Workflow Actions

At LigoLab, we’re committed to providing laboratory software solutions that streamline workflows and make it easier to work smarter and grow your business. 

Examples of this are tags and workflow actions, the focus of this article. In a moment we’ll take a closer look at each entity, but first, let’s examine what might still be happening in your lab environment. 

Are laboratory stations and computer monitors in your lab cluttered with post-it notes, cheat sheets, and disconnected Excel sheets to track issues? Do they serve as little reminders for client preferences or special steps outside of the normal lab workflow? Is your lab using different colored labels to physically denote certain attributes for specimens during processing?

Many labs still rely on these forms of communication and workflow assistance out of necessity. 

Fortunately, LigoLab provides a better and much more efficient way that completely eliminates the physical posting of reminder notes and flags, yet still takes into account customer preferences and special circumstances. 

First, let’s define what tags and workflows are in terms of the LigoLab LIS & RCM Laboratory Operating Platform, along with data field entities, and then we’ll segue into how they work together to make laboratory life easier.

Data Field Entities

In LigoLab terms, data field entities (DFE) are abstract models or real-world objects that can be added on the fly in our system. Examples of DFEs include a person, clinic, customer, patient, or report. 

In the simplest of terms, tags and workflow actions extend the functionality of DFEs by capturing additional info and then lead to action based on that additional info. 

Tags

‍A lightweight classification that can be useful for decision-making or grouping. Tags are stateless in that they can only be added and removed, and they are transient inside the database. Tags alert users about special considerations that should be paid to certain clients. They are a quick and easy way to add attributes without writing a rule and without configuration.

“From a programmatic and technical standpoint, tags give you a lot more flexibility,” said Petros Martirosian, LigoLab Implementations Director. 

According to Martirosian, tags come with two distinct advantages. They completely replace physical post-its and physical flags, and they are also very powerful in that they can be utilized as programming assets throughout the system.

Workflow actions

‍These are heavier than tags and they carry more information and properties. Workflow actions are stateful and persistent in the database, they have a history, and they are tracked throughout via the audit trail. They drive manual workflows that call for desired actions and a response or fulfillment of those desired actions (requested, resolved, or deleted are examples of this). Workflow actions are located in the workflow action queue, and they can be deployed as needed. 

“Ninety percent of the time workflow actions are used because there is a manual step involved,” continued Martirosian. “So, instead of this being an enhancement, LigoLab gives labs the power to configure their own set of workflows and save on costs and time.”

Tags and workflow actions serve as LigoLab’s Swiss army tools because they are applicable in many different scenarios and they promote end-to-end efficiency while still meeting the needs of the most demanding of customers.

“Fundamentally, all labs are the same, but in reality, there are so many different variants within each lab, and that's where these tags and workflow actions come in handy,” concluded Martirosian. “They give users the power to do more while working less.”

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LigoLab Information System is the leading provider of an innovative laboratory information system software solution that meets the diverse needs of Molecular, Clinical, and Anatomic Pathology laboratories nationwide. Let the LigoLab LIS & RCM Laboratory Operating Platform drive efficiency, performance, and growth in your laboratory.

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