An LIS Built to Support the Future of Diagnostics
March 18, 2022
The pandemic has taught the lab industry many valuable lessons. As an industry we need to be nimble and prepared to expand our operations rapidly, not only to manage larger volumes of testing but new diagnostic tests, as well.
The laboratory information system (LIS) plays a vital role in test menu expansion, from receiving electronic orders or manually accessioning cases to providing an ordering and resulting portal. It manages your case workflow for each type of testing whether AP, Clinical, or Molecular, and integrates with medical devices and analytic tools to review and process results. Your LIS also enables your lab to create reports that include both diagnostic results and a functional design so clinicians and patients can understand and act on the results. Finally, it can integrate with your billing and revenue cycle management (RCM) software to ensure rapid reimbursement.
Labs need to have an LIS that can be configured to process and report on new diagnostic tests—in days, if necessary. While your LIS needs to be hosted in the highest-rated hosting facilities to ensure high availability, performance, and scalability, the real key to success is the ability of the system to be configured, via the user interface, to any specification. This includes:
- Creating Case Types (i.e., NGS, PCR, MOL) for the testing modality and assigning the tests and test codes
- Configuring Workflows for each case type so that it matches the exact lab workflow step-by-step, including technical and professional split workflows
- Configuring screens and functions for each defined workflow step including instrument batching, technical review, QC, and data layouts for results review
- Configuring data components and data layouts for individual case review and batch results review
- Configuring inbound result files to ingest and display the test results
Having an LIS with this level of configurability will prepare your lab for any future diagnostic test. Other LIS considerations that will help ensure your lab’s growth and expansion include the following:
- Multi-entity architecture that supports multiple performing labs (e.g., geographic or research) in a single LIS installation
- Open API for connectivity to EHR, digital pathology platforms, NGS platforms, bioinformatics solutions and RCM
- Specimen management and plate mapping functions
- Segmentation of data (e.g., commercial, research, clinical trials)
- A dynamic and easy-to-use patient report
- Project-level reporting for clinical trials and research
- Full integration with billing so that you get paid efficiently
If your LIS doesn’t have these capabilities, this does not automatically mean you need to replace it. At XiFin we encourage labs to use the technology assets that work for you and in which you have a significant financial investment. Embrace what works and augment capabilities with integrated commercial components. Perhaps your LIS is excellent for clinical pathology but not suitable for molecular or NGS testing. You can certainly supplement your existing LIS with new capabilities to get the best of both, which is often the most cost-effective solution.
Additional considerations in deciding whether you can augment your current LIS with additional LIS capabilities, include whether it adds value in terms of extending your existing IT assets and whether it enables diagnostic data analytics for better patient outcomes and client collaboration.
Don’t let your LIS prevent or delay you from expanding your test menu. Be thoughtful about the capabilities that you may need to supplement your current LIS to enable the most effective expansion of your test menu.
Did you know that XiFin, Inc. surveyed 98 individuals representing laboratories around the U.S.? When asked about how well their LIS supports the needs of their specific testing, more than one in four (27%) indicated there are known gaps in the LIS’s ability to meet their testing needs.
Interested in seeing how your LIS measures up in providing these important capabilities? Download the XiFin State of the LIS Industry Report.