Webinars

Webinar Overview

Laboratories today face rising complexity, shrinking reimbursements, staffing shortages, and heightened compliance demands. Yet many still rely on traditional laboratory information systems (LIS) that function as systems of record, passive data repositories that capture every detail but offer little help in the moment of need.

This webinar, led by Suren Avunjian (CEO, LigoLab), Jenny Bull (Success Director, LigoLab), and Dr. Ryan Fortna (President, Avero Diagnostics), explored how labs can transform their LIS systems into systems of action, dynamic, integrated platforms that actively detect issues, automate workflows, and guide real-time decision-making.

The discussion featured practical use cases, operational insights, and AI-driven innovations already in production today.

White Paper: Vendor to Partner - How Aligning with Your LIS System Provider Can Transform Your Lab

Transitioning From Systems of Record to Systems of Action

_{Suren Avunjian}: I want to start with a story. It’s not a fairytale, but it’s one that’s very real for labs today. It’s not a case study or an outlier; it’s happening in every single laboratory.

Once upon a time, there was a growing laboratory. It was busy, trusted, and drowning in data. On paper, the lab had a great lab information system, but each department worked in a vacuum. Histology never knew if pathology was behind. Laboratory billing only saw errors weeks later.

Their LIS system recorded everything but helped with nothing. They had patient data, specimens, accession logs, lab billing codes, and audit trails, but when urgent decisions needed to be made, everyone scrambled. Reports were outdated, buried, and required manual effort to extract. Teams worked overtime just to stay reactive.

One day, a sample was misrouted, delays piled up, and a critical diagnosis was held. No catastrophic mistake occurred, but everyone knew the LIS system didn’t help in the moment of need. The lab was collecting data but not using it. That’s when leadership realized a system of record wasn’t enough; they needed a system of action.

And that story isn’t fiction; it’s reality for many laboratories today.

From Record to Action

In this webinar, we’re exploring what it means to move from a passive LIS system of record to an active and advanced LIS system of action. This leap isn’t just about storing data; it’s about using it to drive faster, smarter decisions across the operation.

At LigoLab, this transition isn’t a slogan. It’s a framework that transforms your medical LIS from a silent database into an intelligent engine that detects issues, automates workflows, predicts outcomes, and proactively supports your team.

Most labs today still operate as systems of record, but the future is active, real, and intelligent. Welcome to the age of LIS systems of action.

Why Now?

So, why is this happening? What’s pushing labs to evolve?

First, test volumes and complexity are increasing, especially with molecular, genetic, and outreach testing. These require more coordination and faster turnaround times, and legacy laboratory information systems simply can’t keep up.

Second, staffing shortages are hitting every department, from grossing techs to lab billing analysts to pathologists. Teams are stretched thin, and LIS systems need to handle more of the heavy lifting to prevent burnout.

Third, many labs are still operating blind. Reports are generated weekly or monthly, and by the time leadership sees a problem, it’s already causing delays or rework. Without real-time visibility, bottlenecks are normalized, productivity drops, and issues are caught only after damage is done.

We also face increasing compliance and audit demands, CAP, CLIA, HIPAA, and SOC 2. These require traceability, quality control, and rapid response. Manual tracking and disconnected data are no longer enough.

Add to that shrinking reimbursements, rising costs, and changing expectations from physicians, patients, and leadership. Labs are no longer behind-the-scenes utilities; they’re mission-critical operations expected to deliver insights, not just results.

It’s a perfect storm of economic pressure, operational complexity, staffing limitations, and rising expectations. Labs that don’t evolve won’t survive. Those that do will be faster, smarter, and future-proof.

What Is a System of Action?

A system of action is dynamic; it senses, interprets, and responds.

Proactively, it alerts you when something is off before it becomes a problem, whether it’s a turnaround delay, a backlog, or a missing specimen. The LIS system tells you in real time, not after the fact in a spreadsheet.

Automation is key. Think of it as a rule engine always running in the background, a digital workforce for the lab. Instead of relying on manual routing, the lab information system knows what to do and executes automatically, whether that’s verifying accessions, flagging errors, or routing cases based on complexity or priority.

Dashboards provide instant, role-specific visibility. Pathologists see what’s relevant to them. Lab billing teams see what matters for their work. Leadership has the full pulse of the lab without asking for updates.

Finally, this isn’t just LIS software; it’s an operational transformation. We capture exceptions, track outcomes, and continuously refine rules to improve over time. It’s applying Kaizen principles: learn, adapt, repeat.

That’s the power of a system that doesn’t just store data, it uses it to act, adapt, and move your lab forward.

Turning Data into Daily Action: How Dashboards, Automation, and QC Tools Transform Lab Operations

Now I'll pass it on to Jenny and Dr. Fortna to go over real-world scenarios of systems in action that hopefully inspire you to implement some of the learnings in your laboratory today.

_{Jenny Bull}: Thank you, Suren.

Every lab is looking for ways to make operations more efficient and address staffing issues, turnaround times, and bottlenecks. It’s never-ending. I’ve yet to talk to a lab that says, “My day is boring, things are slow, and I don’t have any problems.”

Dashboards & Live KPIs

Picking up where Suren left off, imagine coming into your lab on a Monday morning and having a live dashboard waiting for you. This dashboard immediately highlights workflow bottlenecks, from stalled specimens in transport to data entry holdups, so you can address them before delays escalate.

You can compare performance across sites and shifts in real time, pinpoint high performers, share their best practices, and reallocate resources where the data shows they’re needed. During inspections, you can instantly pull up a complete audit trail of quality metrics, corrective actions, and trend lines with a single click; no more running through the lab frantically searching logs.

Your command center view keeps productivity and error rates front and center for leadership, so everyone knows where to focus. If the embedding station is behind, you can shift staff. If cutting is bottlenecked, you can adjust. As soon as a KPI drifts beyond its threshold, the team receives an instant notification and can launch a rapid root cause analysis that same day, not a week later.

Weekly, you can celebrate the biggest improvements on a live leaderboard, turning continuous improvement into a collective win rather than a checklist item. This is not just a record of what happened, it’s an action engine that drives your lab forward every day. Dashboards are a powerful tool that can be used daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. The data is always traceable and accessible to your staff.

Case Assignment Module

The case assignment module is another valuable tool for streamlining operations. In many labs, depending on size and complexity, case assignment can take one to three hours of staff time each day.

With a system of action and a rules-based automation engine in the background, the process becomes dramatically more efficient. When you open the case assignment module, the LIS system automatically distributes new cases based on your predefined rules, by subspecialty, location, or current caseload, so you never have to sort manually.

The integrated calendar shows each pathologist’s availability, including time off and other commitments, ensuring every site and shift is covered. By keeping case distribution and scheduling in one platform, you eliminate the hassle of syncing separate tools and reduce the risk of errors.

Workflow balancing rules can be customized to evenly split cases across the on-duty team or prioritize urgent work. This ensures fairness and consistency in how work flows through the lab. You also gain detailed insights into assignment trends and individual workloads, enabling data-driven adjustments to staffing and shift planning.

A process that once took hours can now be completed in 10–15 minutes, fully automated based on rules designed for your lab’s unique workflow.

Positivity Tracking and QC Module

The QC module’s positivity tracking analytics call out unexpected swings in positivity rates so you can catch reagent degradation or instrument drift before results are affected.

For example, during flu season, the LIS system shows forecasted specimen volumes so you can adjust staffing, reagent orders, and maintenance schedules to meet demand. You can compare positivity curves across sites to spot emerging clusters or identify high-performing workflows, then link those trends back to downstream testing revenue for sharper budgeting and supply chain planning.

On the QC side, the system constantly calculates standard deviation metrics within and between runs, flagging subtle shifts in assay performance long before you reach traditional control limits. When you swap reagents or calibrator lots, the dashboard highlights any deviation from established baselines, keeping your method bias-free.

Because all values are stored and visualized, you can easily complete method validation or verification and demonstrate precision to auditors in line with CLSI guidelines. When CAP, CLIA, or other inspectors arrive, you can provide all this data instantly, without digging through paper logs and run records.

Now I’m going to hand off to Dr. Fortna so you can highlight a few other real-world applications. 

Safeguarding Revenue and Boosting Efficiency Through RCM Automation and Analytics

^{Dr. Ryan Fortna}: Thanks, Jenny. I’m a pathologist and the president of Avero Diagnostics, now a division of Versant Diagnostics. I actively practice on both the anatomic and clinical sides while also handling administrative responsibilities. I’ve been in practice for about 15 years, and I’ve seen the shift from a time when reimbursements and profit margins were high enough to absorb inefficiencies to today’s reality, where efficiency and active revenue monitoring are critical for survival.

We use LigoLab for both the LIS system and revenue cycle management parts of our business, and I’m speaking as a user, not as part of the company. My focus here is on the lab RCM side and how modern LIS systems help pathology groups protect revenue and remain efficient.

Revenue Integrity

Revenue integrity means maintaining constant awareness of your revenue flow, ensuring you’re paid according to contractual rates. In the past, many labs didn’t pay close attention, but payers sometimes fail to pay contractual amounts, or they change reimbursement rates without notification. The only way to detect this is by having your laboratory billing system continuously monitor payments against contracts.

Changes in medical necessity requirements can also impact revenue. For example, our LIS system flagged a sudden drop in reimbursements from one payer. Upon investigation, we discovered they had changed our enrollment status internally, causing all surgical pathology codes to be denied. Without active monitoring, this could have gone unnoticed for months or years.

Regional and Client Analytics

Not all volume is good volume, and not all clients are profitable. Over time, we’ve learned that testing types, payer mixes, and regional differences can significantly affect margins. For example, our women’s health molecular testing was once profitable but became unprofitable when coverage rules changed. Medicaid and certain HMOs can also cause high denial rates in some regions.

If you’re not tracking profitability by region, test, and client, you can spend years doing work that reduces revenue. We’ve had to part ways with some clients because payer mixes and test types made the relationship financially unsustainable.

Lab Billing Automation

Efficiency in the billing department depends heavily on automation. Many billing tasks can be repetitive and manual if your LIS system isn’t designed to handle them automatically.

• Eligibility Checks: We run automated, real-time eligibility checks on every case so billing staff only handle exceptions.
  
• Insurance Discovery: Integrated tools allow staff to quickly find insurance information for cases without coverage listed.
  
• ICD-10 Pointers: The LIS system automatically pairs diagnosis codes with the correct CPT codes, reducing manual work.
  
• Predictive Denial Prevention: Automatic flags alert staff to potential denials based on medical necessity rules or NCCI edits, allowing issues to be fixed before submission.
  

Automation ensures lab billing staff focus on complex cases rather than routine ones, greatly improving productivity.

Efficiency Monitoring

Just as dashboards improve operational visibility in the LIS system, lab RCM dashboards monitor billing team productivity. This is especially important for remote teams, as it allows managers to identify and address performance issues quickly.

By using these efficiencies, we’ve reduced our billing staff by about half over the past few years without sacrificing productivity.

AI-Powered Innovations Transforming the LIS from a System of Record to a System of Action

_{Suren Avunjian}: Thank you, Dr. Fortna. AI is creating the perfect environment for transforming the laboratory from simply a system of record to a system of insight and action, unlocking the true value of data. At LigoLab, we’re not just observing AI transform healthcare; we’re actively embedding it into our customers’ daily workflows to deliver real benefits.

Integrated Speech-to-Text Dictation

One recently released feature is integrated speech-to-text dictation, built directly into LigoLab. While we remain partners with solutions like Dragon Dictate, we saw opportunities to improve speed and accuracy using the latest AI-driven speech technologies. Pathologists and lab techs can now complete case documentation faster, with fewer errors and a better overall experience, especially valuable for high-volume labs.

AI-Powered Requisition Scanning

We’ve also addressed a major bottleneck: order entry. Manual data entry from requisitions takes time, costs money, and introduces the potential for errors. Our new machine learning tool reads and extracts order data from scanned requisitions, eliminating handwriting misreads and streamlining intake. You can set your desired confidence threshold - 99% is recommended - and the LIS system only routes uncertain entries for manual review, saving significant time.

Talk to Your Data

Features marked in blue on our roadmap are already built and deployed in the latest version. Among those in development is a natural language data interface, think ChatGPT, but with all your lab’s data. You’ll be able to type or speak commands like, “Show me all cases delayed in grossing last week,” and instantly receive a report. This will bring intuitive, AI-powered visibility to every corner of the laboratory.

AL Screening of Derm Cases

We’re also piloting a dermatology case screening tool with a partner lab. It prioritizes, triages, and assists with preliminary reviews, preparing draft diagnoses for the pathologist’s approval. It works with all scanners.

Embedded IMS and AI Marketplace

In addition, we’re rolling out an embedded image management system (IMS) for direct digital pathology work within LigoLab, single login, deep integration, and an AI marketplace of image analysis tools.

Automated ICD and CPT Coding 

Another ongoing project is automated ICD and CPT coding based solely on case data. The laboratory information system can suggest the most appropriate codes as soon as the final diagnosis is complete, streamlining lab billing, improving accuracy, and increasing first-pass acceptance and payment while ensuring no revenue is lost.

Framework for Transitioning 

All of these AI features are developed in collaboration with our customers. AI shouldn’t be a black box; it should act as a force multiplier for your team. We view our LIS software as a form of digital labor, accurate, efficient, and highly beneficial to the bottom line.

To transition from a LIS system of record to a system of action, we recommend consolidating platforms and eliminating data silos. Integration creates a live, connected foundation where every event can trigger actions. At the center should be your data warehouse, feeding information to instruments, billing, and other systems.

The rule engine is the brain of the platform. By mapping rules to your SOPs, you can automatically route cases, flag missing data, assign priorities, and tailor workflows so each user sees only what’s relevant to their role. This reduces noise and focuses attention.

Finally, a continuous feedback loop is essential; every action generates data, which feeds back into QA, auditing, and exception tracking, driving continuous improvement. The goal is a system that evolves with your lab, enabling faster decision-making, less rework, more automation, happier teams, and healthier margins.

If your LIS system isn’t actively helping your team do their jobs better, it’s time for something more. We don’t just help you collect and store data; we help you use it, act on it, and adapt it to lead your organization forward.

Key Takeaways from the Webinar Discussion

Laboratories must evolve from being passive LIS systems of record to becoming active LIS systems of action. By shifting their focus toward actionable insights, labs can better anticipate issues, respond faster, and improve overall operational performance.

Visibility is a critical driver of efficiency. Real-time dashboards, proactive alerts, and automation empower teams to spot bottlenecks, cut delays, and reduce errors before they escalate. This level of transparency keeps productivity high and operations running smoothly.

Vigilance in laboratory revenue cycle management (Lab RCM) is equally essential. Successful labs track reimbursements closely, prevent denials, and continuously monitor client and regional profitability to ensure long-term financial health.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future promise; it’s here now. AI is already streamlining workflows, reducing manual labor, and preparing laboratories for scalable growth by automating repetitive tasks and enabling smarter, faster decision-making.

Ultimately, transitioning to a next-generation LIS system is not just about replacing laboratory information system software. It’s about transforming how the LIS thinks, reacts, and learns, creating a system that actively supports, adapts, and evolves with the laboratory’s needs.