Your laboratory’s LIS (Laboratory Information System) is the backbone of operations. When it’s running smoothly, everything from test ordering to reporting is seamless. But when it starts showing its age, mistakes happen and the frustration becomes too much. However, laboratory workflow optimization isn’t just about speed.
Several real-life examples and over thirty years of experience in the field have taught us the secret signs that illustrate it’s time for a change. So, here are nine telltale signs that your LIS is holding your lab back:
1. When Workflow Optimization Fails: Why Your Staff Is Always Frustrated
Lab techs, pathologists, Geneticists, and stakeholders shouldn’t have to fight with your LIS to get their work done. If you’re hearing daily complaints about slow performance, confusing workflows, or frequent crashes, it’s a red flag. Your LIS should support your team, not frustrate them.
2. Manual Tasks Are a Sign Your Workflow Needs Optimization
Is your staff still keying in test results by hand? Manually cross-checking patient data? A modern LIS automates data entry, reduces transcription errors, and integrates seamlessly with instruments and other systems. If your team is spending too much time on manual work, your LIS is falling short.
Imagine you’re managing a mid-sized hospital lab in Minnesota, and you’ve recently upgraded to a modern LIS after struggling with manual data entry errors that led to delayed test results and compliance risks. With automation, you’ve just reduced result turnaround time by 30% and significantly improved accuracy – allowing your staff to focus on higher-value tasks like patient care and quality assurance.
3. How Poor Workflow Optimization Slows Down Turnaround Time
Fast, reliable turnaround times are essential for patient care and lab profitability. If your LIS can’t keep up with your lab’s workload, leading to delays in results, it’s not doing its job. Bottlenecks in your system can mean lost business and dissatisfied clients.
4. Workflow Bottlenecks Begin with Integration Nightmares
A study published in Clinical Chemistry highlights that clinical laboratories often face challenges in delivering the right information due to integration and interoperability issues between health information systems. These challenges can hinder a laboratory’s ability to scale effectively and maintain efficiency.
Your LIS should connect effortlessly with your hospital or clinic’s EHR, billing systems, and laboratory instruments. If you’re constantly dealing with data mismatches, broken interfaces, or expensive workarounds, your LIS might be too outdated or inflexible.
A good example would be a diagnostic lab in Illinois, which struggled with frequent billing errors and missing test results due to a lack of integration between its LIS and EHR. This led to claim denials, delayed reimbursements, and frustrated clinicians. However, once it implemented a modern LIS in 2017, it eliminated data mismatches, reduced billing errors by 40%, and improved overall workflow efficiency.
5. Lack of Scalability Signals Broken Workflow Optimization
Your LIS should work for you, and not the other way around. If your LIS doesn’t offer customization to your lab’s specific (and evolving) needs, you might find yourself trailing behind. A powerful LIS must offer various customization options, multiple dashboards and reporting possibilities, and provide you and your staff with, basically, anything you need to provide the best possible service.
And if you’re expanding services, adding new test types, or growing into new locations, your LIS should scale with you. Older systems often struggle to handle increased test volumes, multi-location coordination, or regulatory changes, forcing labs to work harder instead of smarter.
6. Workflow Gaps Can Risk Compliance and Security
Regulations in the lab industry are constantly evolving. Whether it’s HIPAA, CLIA, CAP, or ISO standards, your LIS should help you stay compliant. If audits are a nightmare because your system lacks proper tracking, reporting, or security measures, it’s time for an upgrade. There’s no reason your LIS shouldn’t be a valuable tool for compliance inspections.
7. Frequent Downtime? Your Workflow Optimization Is Outdated
Downtime means lost productivity, frustrated clinicians, and potential errors. If your LIS is prone to crashes, slow performance, or requires frequent maintenance, it’s costing your lab more than you realize. A reliable LIS should offer high uptime and strong technical support.
8. Losing Clients? Your Workflow Isn’t Competitive Enough
Labs today need to be competitive, offering fast, accurate, and seamless service. If your LIS limits your ability to adopt new technology or provide streamlined digital workflows, you may be losing out to labs that can.
For example, in 2022, a private Pathology lab in Dublin, Ireland, struggled to keep up with increasing test volumes due to an outdated LIS that couldn’t integrate with modern automation systems. As a result, turnaround times lagged behind competitors, and clinicians faced delays in receiving critical results. Due to the Irish government’s attempt to Improve the national health system’s overall responsiveness, the lab found itself in a tough spot. After upgrading to a next-generation LIS, the lab improved efficiency by 30%, enabled seamless digital result-sharing, and regained its competitive edge in the market.
One of the clear signs of innovation in an LIS is mobile add-ons, that expand your service possibilities. If your LIS doesn’t offer mobile versions and additional services that make your staff’s work (and the healthcare professional relying on your services) easier, then it’s a clear sign that it’s time for an upgrade.
9. Vendor Support Makes or Breaks Workflow Optimization
An LIS is only as good as the support behind it. If your vendor is slow to respond, charges excessive fees for updates, or doesn’t provide the level of service your lab needs, you deserve better. A strong vendor partnership ensures your LIS evolves with your lab.
What’s Next for Your Lab?
If several of these points sound familiar, your LIS may be holding your lab back more than you realize. Upgrading to a modern, scalable, AI-driven, and tailor-made LIS can streamline workflows, reduce errors, and improve overall efficiency.
The good news? The right system can make the transition seamless, with minimal disruption to your lab’s operations. Not sure where to start? We’re here to help:
