Laboratories must maintain complicated workflows and often employ multiple laboratory data management systems, such as a Laboratory Information System (LIS). Your lab must contain complex data, equipment, system access, labeling, sample tracking, and essential communications within the lab, to name a few.
If you find difficulty in any of these areas, it’s time to integrate a laboratory information system at your lab. You will be ready to solve common lab problems and gain numerous capabilities with a LIS.
Data Management and Data Entry Errors
At most labs today, our experiments generate more data than we know how to manage and analyze. Messy, manual analyses methods can lead to overlooking trends in your data or result in errors in your datasets. Your hard-earned data is a precious commodity. Using an appropriate LIS can solve these common problems by structuring your data within an easily searchable database and providing easy tools to harvest large amounts of raw data.
Improper Care of Lab Equipment
Your laboratory’s equipment is likely the single huge investment at your lab and critical to your workflows. Keep all equipment calibrated, and conduct maintenance on a regular schedule. Failing to maintain your equipment could result in equipment failure, costing your lab additional money and time.
Data Access and Security Issues
With the increased danger of cyberattacks, data breaches, and leaks, labs must guarantee that sensitive data is safe and secure. It is imperative that your lab store all data in a secure manner that has controlled access. Only a system such as a LIS will ensure the appropriate level of data safety and security.
Error-prone Sample Tracking
If your lab tests clinical samples, you must have effect robust sample tracking. Errors and testing delays will always plague any workflow management that relies on manual sample tracking using generic tools like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. At the point when a sample shows up, the sample following programming can oversee test tasks so the sample is right away doled out to the appropriate technique.
The point when a sample shows up, tracking software can oversee test tasks along these lines, the sample is immediately relegated to the appropriate method. To prevent unnecessary mistakes from manual work, your lab should also avoid using handwritten labels. Handwritten risk can be non-existent when you utilize LIS software, which can create, print, and scan barcode labels.
Miscommunication Within The Lab
Sample testing workflows are highly intricate processes, commonly performed by many people over some time. To ensure timely, accurate results, it’s essential to use effective, standardized methods of communication throughout the sample testing process. Using a LIS that records all actions performed during the sample testing workflow can be a highly effective form of workflow management, ensuring no miscommunication occurs during testing.
Ineffective Workflow Management
When processing a sample, your lab must get an accurate, reproducible result. This requires each lab worker to follow the precise procedures from the current and approved SOP (standard operating procedure). This must be the case regardless of who is processing the sample or performing the test. Using an outdated SOP can lead to inaccurate results that are catastrophic. Instead, using a LIS to manage which procedures are executed during sample testing can ensure that preventable errors don’t occur.
Problems Solved with LIS365
When choosing the right LIS, it is important to select software that will work well specifically for your lab. Because every lab operates slightly differently, the LIS must be flexible and configurable to meet your needs.
Lis365 has years of experience implementing custom LIS for a wide range of labs. Our clients span all types of fields and include FDA-regulated pharmaceutical labs, CLIA-regulated clinical testing labs, academic cores, NGS-specific labs, agriculture research labs, and even non-biological analyte testing labs. When assessing the right LIS for your lab, consider how Lis365 can help create a LIS to meet your lab’s specific needs.
What is a LIS and how can it best benefit your lab? For answers contact our experts today.
