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The Four Most Important Things to Consider When Modernizing a Laboratory
September 5, 2025
Anatomic pathology groups and clinical laboratories can either disrupt or be disrupted, and the key to sustainable growth and future success lies within their grasp.
By selecting the best laboratory information systems (LIS software) and lab revenue cycle management/laboratory billing solutions, they can move forward confidently into the future knowing that their lab pathology software has the flexibility and capacity necessary to pivot and evolve with whatever comes next.
However, choosing the wrong LIS system can choke growth and leave the operation vulnerable to becoming outdated.
Discover More: The Benefits of a Modern Pathology Lab Management System
Thanks to an aging population and consolidation, there is an ever-increasing demand for labs to handle more cases, even as the reimbursement per case is shrinking.
To take on the demand and thrive despite industry challenges (such as Medicare rate cuts, shifting regulations, increased compliance pressures, and a workforce short on qualified technicians), labs must proactively find and implement advanced LIS systems with a premium on configurability, efficiency, interoperability, and transparency.
Discover More: Laboratory Information System Software and Its Role in Overcoming Laboratory Staffing Challenges
Medical LIS Configurability
It’s an adage, and it’s true. No two laboratories are alike. What’s best for one laboratory may not be best for another.
When choosing a new medical LIS lab solution, decision-makers should first consider whether the LIS software vendors are selling an “off-the-shelf” solution or one that can be tailor-made to fit the unique needs of their lab.
Is the LIS system software in question both agile and flexible?
Can it customize lab reports and distribute them with ease?
Can it support and positively transform overall laboratory workflow management?
Is the LIS medical system relatively easy to configure and maintain?
Does the LIS software solution have the capability to support a wide range of customer preferences?
Does the LIS company representing the diagnostic lab software have the domain expertise and best practices knowledge required to keep the lab up-to-date with platform enhancements and upgrades?
Does the LIS lab vendor align with an organization’s needs and desire to scale and take charge of the marketplace?
Does the LIS system provide an end-to-end solution that goes beyond core workflows while also offering the supporting modules a lab needs, including financial ones?
Discover More: Best LIS Software - Maximize Growth With Cutting-Edge Pathology Lab Management Software
Lab Information System Efficiency
Today’s challenge for labs is to meet the increasing demand for more tests by increasing throughput capacity while not sacrificing accuracy. To meet unprecedented demand while putting the lab in a position to scale, the business’s LIS system and laboratory revenue cycle management (lab RCM) solutions must optimize efficiency through automation and streamlined laboratory workflow management.
Manual tasks should be automated through advanced LIS system features to boost efficiency. When selecting new pathology software, testing organizations should focus on LIS systems that reduce preparation and turnaround times while minimizing both lost and mislabeled samples.
Does the lab information system solution have a powerful rule and automation engine?
Is it a logic-based LIS software platform that minimizes clicks?
Is it a user-friendly LIS system built by laboratorians for laboratorians?
Does the medical LIS solution feature a robust tracking system built throughout the platform, providing end-to-end coverage that drastically reduces errors and lost specimens while boosting quality control?
Labs are busy places, and pathologists have important jobs to do. By boosting efficiency, they can spend more time on diagnosis, which benefits the provider and ultimately the patient.
White Paper: Comparing LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information System Software
LIS System Interoperability
To achieve interoperability with other laboratory software systems, the lab’s medical LIS & lab RCM solutions should have an open architecture that enables a powerful interface engine to quickly and easily connect with any enterprise EHR, physician EMR, instrument, or middleware. Lab leadership should identify and implement a lab information system that can expertly handle the expansion of services into areas like digital pathology, genetics, and precision medicine.
Industry Insights: Digital Pathology Redefined - Uniting AI, Viewers, and a Robust LIS System for a Seamless Workflow
By providing modules for these growing areas, the right healthcare LIS system solution can drive growth by opening new revenue for the business. Lab leaders should also seek an LIS software solution that seamlessly integrates with state registries for quality assurance and compliance purposes. With maximum interoperability, scaling a business (quickly) becomes possible.
Laboratory Information System Transparency
Moving away from fee-for-service and toward preventative care models means labs must shift how they do business. High patient deductibles and lower reimbursements from payers mean labs must actively find better ways to collect payment for their services. Write-offs for bad debt or rejected claims are no longer acceptable in today’s business climate. Every dollar counts.
Laboratory billing has traditionally been a backend RCM process, but that needs to change. Lab operators should look for a laboratory information system with advanced lab RCM functions that capture patient demographics on the front end and check patient eligibility and insurance discovery in real-time at order entry.
They should also implement laboratory billing solutions that offer full control and transparency, enabling lab billing staff to track and collect all balances, including small ones, with little or no manual assistance.
Lab billing transparency should be a vitally important aspect of the laboratory billing process. It should deliver valuable insights into all lab operations, providing top-level and low-level views of data across all departments. When armed with operational knowledge pulled from business intelligence, lab leaders can identify potential bottlenecks in workflows and employee inefficiencies before it’s too late to act.
It may take time to identify the best LIS system, but the reward is a system that eliminates bottlenecks, improves productivity, accelerates growth, and offers total oversight and control.
Discover More: Clinical Laboratory Management Solutions for Lab Revenue Cycle Management (Lab RCM)
Revolutionize Your Lab Operations with LigoLab’s Cutting-Edge LIS Software Solutions
Medical laboratories today face numerous challenges, including declining reimbursements, staffing shortages, stringent regulations, and high client turnover - all of which threaten operational efficiency and growth.
To stay competitive and navigate these obstacles, testing organizations need a strategic pathology lab software partner equipped to address inefficiencies and adapt to fast-paced technology advancements.
For labs still relying on outdated legacy laboratory information systems, LigoLab offers a transformative and modern LIS software solution.
LigoLab’s all-in-one medical LIS and laboratory billing platform eliminates the silos and data integrity issues of legacy LIS systems. With its flexibility and scalability, LigoLab’s platform empowers medical labs to modernize operations, streamline workflows, and position themselves for long-term success in an ultra-competitive environment.
Discover More: A Closer Look at LigoLab’s Commitment to Innovation
See firsthand how to put configurability, efficiency, interoperability, and transparency to work for your lab.
