InterSystems to release next-generation laboratory business management system (LBMS) in early 2016.

Advances in automation, genomic testing, and the increased use of point-of-care testing are driving shifts in where and when testing takes place. Next-generation software systems will capture information at each stage of the healthcare process to enable unprecedented flexibility and clinical validity.

An LBMS will enable laboratories to work differently. Not only will they communicate lab results electronically, but they will also identify their derivation, including workflows, equipment, and personnel involved, regardless of where they are located.

Connected care models and shared electronic health records will also see laboratory professionals become more directly involved in patient care. With a continuous view of the patient’s condition, lab professionals will extend their services into hospital wards and other settings. An LBMS will provide the following new capabilities:

• Distributed sample processing: Samples may be collected in one location, processed at another, analysed at a third, and digitally referred to yet another location for a second opinion.
• Accountability and process improvement: Complete visibility and control over the testing process – including which tests are running at a profit and which ones at a loss – will enable greater accountability and allow laboratories to continually improve processes and optimise distributed workflows and resources.
• Efficiency through automation: Standard operating procedures with full auditability will not only support distribution of workflows across multiple sites, but also drive further automation by decreasing the percentage of tests requiring manual intervention.
• Patient-centric care: Support for connected care models will put patients at the centre of the testing process with a contiguous pathology patient record, integrated within the electronic health record, including all test data – including point-of-care test results.
• Quality assurance: Lab professionals will extend quality assurance outside of the laboratory using asset management functionality for equipment data, with maintenance events viewed and analysed alongside patient test results.

Find out more at InterSystems.co.uk/BeyondLIMS