Confused about whether you need a LIS or a LIMS system?
Laboratory information systems (LIS) and laboratory information management systems (LIMS) have similar names, but their functionality is quite different. Both systems automate lab workflow, manage lab inventory and produce test results. However, how you manage and use the data determines which system you actually need.
There’s a lot of confusion; many vendors and labs use the terms interchangeably. Wikipedia equates them, “A laboratory information management system, sometimes referred to as a laboratory information system…” Wrong Wikipedia.
LIS and LIMS software handle data differently. In a clinical or hospital setting where patient data, myriad lab instruments and billing software are business realities, the interoperability of an LIS is critical. In research situations where large quantities of data are shared and analyzed then a LIMS is better suited.
The real concern is if a commercial lab of any size or type is sold a LIMS that lacks the robust interoperability their lab automation requires. LIMS just don’t have the comprehensive interfacing to EMR and billing software that a lab needs to survive in the increasingly competitive diagnostic marketplace.
About Comp Pro Med’s Polytech LIS
For four decades, Comp Pro Med has focused on developing a world-class laboratory information system. CPM has wide-ranging experience providing LIS solutions for individual labs and hospitals to networks of governmental medical facilities.
Polytech LIS expedites patient record processes, interfaces seamlessly with any application or instrument, automates data collection and reporting – all with zero downtime, and all in compliance with state and federal regulations.
Our focused customer-driven approach combines our state-of-the-art feature-rich Polytech clinical laboratory information system with superior support from seasoned system engineers. Our expertise includes not only continuous development of the Polytech LIS to incorporate the latest technology and regulatory requirements, but also direct interfaces that seamlessly connect your LIS with analyzers, instruments and other systems such as reference laboratories, HIS, EMR, EHR, billing and practice management systems.
