Why should I buy an LIS?
The demands on laboratories are growing each day. Improve service levels to internal and external customers. Maintain or increase quality. Reduce costs. Generate more revenue. Do more with less.
Confronted with all of this, why even consider spending money on an LIS? The answer is simple and compelling -- an LIS can help the lab address many of these challenges. Let's take a closer look at how:
Improve service levels to your customers
The product of any laboratory is accurate and timely information. Physicians need it to make treatment decisions. Lab administrators need it to decide what testing to do in house, to keep track of how much testing is being done - by whom and at what location, and to help manage payor contracts. Lab data must be accessible to everyone who needs it, including outpatient or remote sites. An LIS formats and delivers this information quickly and efficiently.
Maintain or increase quality
Transcription errors -- one of the greatest fears in a laboratory -- can be introduced each time an order or result must be written down, copied, or transcribed. Even with the most educated, well trained, and conscientious staff, an error in transcription occurs about 1-3% of the time. An LIS will dramatically decrease the number of times that order is handled, eliminating a substantial source of errors and facilitating quality assurance.
Reduce costs
Because labor is by far the greatest factor in the lab's overall budget, a 5% reduction in labor costs will impact the bottom line much more than a 5% reduction in the costs for send-out testing or supplies. National studies show that very little of a laboratorian's time is actually spent on the bench. An LIS helps staff spend more time on tasks that require unique skills, instead of repetitive, time consuming administrative work. Chores such as looking up past results -- a waste of valuable labor -- are ideally suited to an LIS.