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Review
. 2017 Jul 14;36(3):220-224.
doi: 10.1515/jomb-2017-0021. eCollection 2017 Sep.

Laboratory Information System - Where are we Today?

Vera Lukić  1
Affiliations
Review

Laboratory Information System - Where are we Today?

Vera Lukić. J Med Biochem. .

Abstract
in English, Serbian

Wider implementation of laboratory information systems (LIS) in clinical laboratories in Serbia has been initiated ten years ago. The first LIS in the Railway Health Care Institute has been implemented nine years ago. Before the LIS was initiated, manual admission procedures limited daily output of patients. Moreover, manual entering of patients data and ordering tests on analyzers was problematic and time consuming. After completing tests, laboratory personnel had to write results in patient register (with potential errors) and provide invoices for health insurance organisation. First LIS brought forward some advantages with regards to these obstacles, but it also showed various weaknesses. These can be summarised in rigidity of system and inability to fulfil user expectation. After 4 years of use, we replaced this system with another LIS. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to evaluate advant ages of using LIS in laboratory of the Railway Health Care Institute and also to discuss further possibilities for its application. After implementing LIS, admission procedure has proven to be much faster. LIS enabled electronic requests, barcoded specimens prevent identification errors, bidirectional interface replaces redundant data entry steps, QC data are transferred automatically, results are electronically validated and automatically archived in data base, billing information is transferred electronically, and more. We also use some advanced options, like delta check, HIL feature, quality indicators and various types of reports. All steps in total testing process are drastically improved after the implementation of LIS, which had a positive impact on the quality of issued laboratory results. However, we expect development of some new features in the future, for example auto-verification and inventory management. On the example of the laboratory of the Railway Health Care Institute, we show that it is crucial that laboratory specialists have the main role in defining desirable characteristics of LIS which institution aims to buy. This paper suggests that the main feature of LIS should be the flexibility of system and capability of adjustment to user needs and requests.

Uvođenje laboratorijskih informacionih sistema (LIS) u širu upotrebu u Srbiji postalo je aktuelno u poslednjih desetak godina. U Zavodu za zdravstvenu zaštitu radnika »Železnice Srbije« prvi LIS je implementiran pre devet godina. Pre toga, dnevni broj pacijenata je bio ograničen zbog ručnih prijemnih procedura. Sledeći sporan korak koji je trošio vreme je bilo manuelno unošenje podataka o pacijentu i zadavanje analiza na analizatorima. Po završetku testiranja, laboranti su morali da prepisuju rezultate u protokol pacijenata (sa potencijalnim greškama) i prave fakturu za Republički fond zdravstvenog osiguranja. Prvi insta lirani LIS doneo nam je neka unapređenja, ali je takođe ispoljio mnoge slabosti, koje u najkrac̀em mogu biti definisane kao rigidnost sistema i njegova nesposobnost da zadovolji očekivanja korisnika. Nakon četiri godine korišćenja, postojeći LIS smo zamenili novim. Cilj ovog članka je da evaluira prednosti korišćenja LIS-a u laboratoriji Zavoda za zdravstvenu zaštitu radnika »Železnice Srbije« i razmotri njegove dodatne mogućnosti. U našoj laboratoriji, nakon uvođenja LIS-a, prijemne procedure su mnogo brže uz korišćenje elektronskog uputa. Barkodiranje uzoraka prevenira identifikacione greške, dvosmerna veza između LIS-a i analizatora zamenila je ručni unos podataka, rezultati kontrole kvaliteta se prenose u LIS automatski, nalazi se elektronski verifikuju i automatski trajno arhviraju, faktura se formira i prosleđuje elektronski. Takođe, koristimo neke napredne opcije kao {to su delta ček, HIL test, indikatori kvaliteta, razne vrste izveštaja. Sve faze procesa laboratorijskog testiranja su dramatično poboljšane nakon implementacije LIS-a i uočava se pozitivan uticaj na kvalitet izdatih laboratorijskih rezultata. U narednom periodu očekujemo razvoj i nekih novih opcija kao {to su autoverifikacija i upravljanje zalihama reagenasa i potrošnog materijala. Na našem primeru možemo zaključiti da je od izuzetne važnosti da prilikom nabavke LIS-a, ključnu ulogu u definisanju željenih karakteristika sistema ima biohemičar. Glavna karakteristika LIS-a treba da bude njegova fleksibilnost i sposobnost prilagođavanja potrebama i zahtevima korisnika.

Keywords: advanced options; flexibility; laboratory information system.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest Conflict of interest statement: The authors stated that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.

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