ICTM 111 (LEC)

Madla, Ray Anne Rose M. November 1, 2022

Laboratory Information System
BSMLS 1 Y1-2

LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM 3. Reporting
-software designed to make labs more efficient and • It’s good to be able to quickly pull reports that can
effective, especially those that process massive answer questions such as which instruments get
amounts of samples for research and development used the most, how long your sample backlog is,
(R&D), manufacturing, and medical research. and how long it takes your lab, on average, to
process a sample. This kind of data is extremely
Functional Requirements and Features of LIMS useful for data analysis auditing and audit trail.
1. Sample management • Some LIMS will be more granular in their
As samples move from person to person and place reporting than others. For example, one LIMS might
to place, it’s easy for them to get lost or mixed up. be able to tell you what your average sample
Accurate, detailed records are essential to making processing time is, but another might tell you your
sure everything gets done and done right. For average time broken out by type of sample. It’s
example, a good record should tell you whether a helpful to know what kind of reporting and level of
sample meets project criteria, but they can be a reporting you need before you begin comparing
pain to create and maintain. vendors.
• Keep in mind, just because a LIMS can run a
When you create a sample, most LIMSs will record report doesn’t mean it’s easy. Some reports require
and store information such as: custom coding to set up and run. And some systems
• Who or what the sample was taken from? can export to Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word, but
• Which researchers/providers are working with it? not Google Drive
• Where it’s been, and where it needs to go next?
• How to store it? 4.EMR/EHR
• When it needs to move? • Electronic health records (EHR) is its own type of
software, but some LIMSs have EHR functionality
2. Workflow management built-in, including patient checkin and billing. If you
• You should use an LIMS to automate workflows don’t have a software package offering these
for the same reason you should use it to automate features, choosing a LIMS with this kind of
records keeping, but instead of saving work, this functionality can be a huge asset when managing
function saves you time. your clinical lab.
• When you codify existing methods and
procedures in a LIMS, you delegate decision-making Laboratory Standards
to the software. For example, it can automatically • The Occupational Safety and Health
assign work to scientists and suggest instruments Administration (OSHA) released an“Occupational
based on preset rules. And instead of looking up Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories
what you need to do with a sample and where it standard (29 CFR 1910.1450)” in 2011 to facilitate
needs to go next, a good LIMS will automatically laboratory safety.
provide this information. • “Laboratory” means a facility where the
“laboratory use of hazardous chemicals” occurs. It is
a workplace where relatively small quantities of
hazardous chemicals are used on a non-production
basis.
 ICTM 111 (LEC)
Madla, Ray Anne Rose M. November 1, 2022
Laboratory Information System
BSMLS 1 Y1-2

• “Laboratory use of hazardous chemicals” means Registration, billing, contract management,

handling or use of such chemicals in which all of the accounts receivables, etc.
following conditions are met:
• “Protective laboratory practices and equipment” A. Patient Registration
are available and in common use to minimize the • When you arrive at the hospital, the Admission
potential for worker exposure to hazardous Clerk will take some basic information and then will
chemicals. guide you to a registration window.
• Any hazardous chemical use which does not meet
this definition is regulated under other standards.
This includes other hazardous chemical use within a
laboratory. For instance:
• Chemicals used in building maintenance of a
laboratory are not covered under the Laboratory
standard.
• The production of a chemical for commercial sale,
even in small quantities, is not covered by the
Laboratory standard.
• Quality control testing of a product is not covered
under the Laboratory standard
• If the Laboratory standard applies, employers
must develop a Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP). A CHP B. Billing
is the laboratory’s program which addresses all • The process of generating SOAs or Billing
aspects of the Laboratory standard. Statements of Inpatients, Outpatients, and
• A CHP must address virtually every aspect of the Emergencies are the same. In this example, we used
procurement, storage, handling, and disposal of Inpatients
chemicals in use in a facility.
• Primary elements of a CHP include the following: C. Contract Management
• Minimizing exposure to chemicals by establishing • Most Laboratory Information Management
standard operating procedures, requirements for Systems allow the laboratory professional to
personal protective equipment, engineering manage the billing and payment aspects of their
controls (e.g., chemical fume hoods, air handlers, activities and create statistical and billing reports at
etc.) and waste disposal procedures. par with the laboratory and management needs.
• Responsible persons must be designated for
procurement and handling of Material Safety Data
Sheets, organizing training sessions, monitoring
employee work practices, and annual revision of the
CHP
 ICTM 111 (LEC)
Madla, Ray Anne Rose M. November 1, 2022
Laboratory Information System
BSMLS 1 Y1-2
capability has been implemented into various
microbiology, immunoassay, coagulation and
D. Quality Control hematology instruments.
• Diagnostic tests executed inside the clinical • A bi-directional interface application saves the
laboratory may yield two kinds of results, a patient technologist the time to program test orders into
result or a quality control (QC) result. The result can the analyzer, and eliminates errors in manual entry.
be quantitative (in numbers) or qualitative (positive This can result in a considerable enhancement in
or negative) or semi- quantitative (limited to a few analyzer productivity. Newer random access testing,
different values). Quality control results are used to bi-directionally interfaced analyzers also
verify whether or not the instrument is working incorporate bar code specimen label scanning
within prescribed parameters, confirming that which provides automatic positive specimen ID
patient test results are reliable (Bio-Rad capability. This can further eliminate manual entry
Laboratories, 2008). of specimen IDs and/or coding of specimens by
• LIMS have functions that enable users to set tray/cup position (Selmyer and Cloutier, 1996)
standards about the relevant range of patient test
results, or extract test result information for the G. Accounts Receivables
purpose of quality assurance. Outliers and Because of the integration of the LIMS, the
deviations can be flagged, and appropriate warning personnel in charge of managing Accounts
signals can notify users of issues which might receivables can easily extract information which
involve the quality of the samples or the equipment was already available from the invoicing and
currently in use. contract management procedures. Additionally, the
LIMS can:
E. Barcode-generation, printing and reading • Generate specific or complete Accounts
• LIMS modules are commonly linked to a bar- Receivable reports
coding label generator, enabling a fast and easy • Monitor balances for reconciliation and audit
method to identify tubes, samples, documents, purposes
among many others. Simply print it on labels • Export data to other accounting systems
stickers to place on whatever item needs • Customize reports according to specifications
identification. A barcode editor also allows multiple
labels to be printed at a label printer. The barcode H. Work list and Workflow
series can usually be customized to suit your • LIMS assist laboratories in setting priorities of
organization or classification needs. With this kind current workloads, based on analyst and instrument
of technology, you can effortlessly find and retrieve availability. This function allows user to track a
information about a tube, a specimen, or sample, a batch of samples, or a "lot" of batches
equipment within the laboratory using a barcode through its lifecycle. Queuing can also be done by
scanner. sample or by workflow, a block of repetitive
procedures in a certain process. The queuing and
F. In-built bi-directional interfaces with equipment work list feature provides an insight into when an
• A bi-directional interface (Figure 10.6) involves event occurred, how long it was, and who was
true two-way communication between the analyzer involved.
(equipment) and information system interface. The • In addition, other features in the Laboratory
LIMS interface downloads specimen ID and test Information Management System also enable
orders, while the analyzer uploads specimen ID and personnel and workload management, allowing
test results. More recently, bi-directional interface users to plan workload schedules and assignments,
 ICTM 111 (LEC)
Madla, Ray Anne Rose M. November 1, 2022
Laboratory Information System
BSMLS 1 Y1-2
and employee information and training. Ultimately,
the work list and workflow functions operate to
facilitate more efficient laboratory processes