A Laboratory Information System (LIS) is a healthcare software system that processes, stores, and manages patient data associated with laboratory processes and tests. It updates details about a patient including patient information, test orders, and test results, and stores the information in its database for future reference.

Unprecedented amounts of data are produced by modern genomics. The management, tracking, and centralization of genomics data requires laboratories to update their methods in light of increasing data volumes, sample throughput, and frequent technological advancements.

The LIS may include point-of-care testing support, outreach tools, data mining capabilities, audit capabilities, and workflow-guiding decision-support rules. It enables the laboratory to actively assess the patient’s health status and development of treatments.

Additionally, it can integrate with instruments or other in-lab systems to improve lab efficiency, enable workflow automation, which can in turn reduce human error, and support compliance efforts.

For the LIS to function properly, it requires three different components working in a synchronized form including tracking sample, implementing protocol, and managing storage.

As the most significant asset in any clinical laboratory, samples make up the core part of LIS. It involves entering information into the program such as the patient’s unique ID, name, department in which the patient is admitted to, type of sample, date or batch number, and volume in the software. The sample tracker helps in producing a clear report that includes the results of all tests run on the sample.

Implementing the protocols, steps, processes, and procedures to improve the standard of the laboratory workflow is another component of LIS. LIS helps provide a strict protocol for maintaining quality tests and provides visibility depending on authorization.

Finally, the last component of the LIS is managing sample storage. In order to properly store the sample for usage in the future, the samples are categorized by batch number or date of collection.
In order to quickly locate samples in a busy laboratory and maintain a productive and well-organized work environment, the storage hierarchy is crucial.

For effective management of samples and associated data in laboratories, a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is used, which increases the efficiency of the laboratory. A good LIMS makes record keeping and reporting simple, reducing the possibility of human error and speeding up the entire process.

Spreadsheets and paper-based LIMS are ineffective for managing the amount of data that a modern laboratory stores. With LIMS, it automates and simplifies workflows. Additionally, it addresses numerous compliance requirements, assisting laboratories in maintaining their regulatory, safety, and privacy standards.

While LIS traditionally refers to systems that support healthcare clinical settings and patient-specific specimens, LIMS accommodates sample-centric laboratory needs, such as those in non-clinical laboratory settings or in clinical research.

The LIMS process begins as soon as a sample is brought into a lab by registering it on the system and giving it a particular identification number. The relevant data can then be updated in a LIMS as and when the samples move through the lab to maintain the audit trail. Overall, having LIMS improves the overall efficiency of laboratory.