Laboratory Information Management Systems, or LIMS, is a new idea in an old field – information management. Older Laboratory Informational Systems, or LIS, has been a part of laboratory informatics for decades, and has had its share of problems. Development and advances has occurred, but the newer system, LIMS, is coming to the forefront of the technology, making informatics management an easier and more efficient occupation.

In the clinical laboratory setting, there are many aspects of patient care information that has to be organized. A good LIMS can be a boon in this area. Starting with patient vital statistics we move through databases that involve patient specimens, specimen source, testing procedure ordered, analytical data, and resulting. All of this information is highly important and must be kept virtually confidential and safe from corruption.

The interface between the LIMS managed data and the hospital patient care personnel should be a seamless one. Nurses should have no trouble getting results to the doctors. Doctors should have easy access to this patient data at all times by either using patient accessioning or patient number systems. The data should be managed on a time scale so that backing up of old data is made and kept on file for access at any time later.

Whatever patient accessioning system is used, it should be efficient and quick. Speed of turnaround times is extremely vital to patient care, and the productivity of a laboratory can be sped up with a properly installed LIMS. Results should be automatic, after laboratory personnel has scrutinized the results for their findings, and should be submitted competently through the computer network without data mistakes or corruption.

Laboratory personnel may find a good LIMS can make their job easier by flagging results that are past a certain threshold. Warnings for “panic values”, results that are compared to the database of results and then found to be well out of normal range, are of the utmost importance for patient care, as they show the care provider that something is amiss.

The databases involved in all of this can become quite enormous. Maintaining this huge database, and keeping files ready for review, is the job of the informatics management personnel using the LIMS system. LIMS aids in making the job easier, thus reducing personnel needed for the tasks and keeping costs down.

Illnesses are being identified in more and more complex ways, and the newest analytical instruments are becoming quicker and more efficient, thus speeding up the testing process. Having an informational management system in place to keep track of these and other changing testing procedures is paramount to the success of a productive laboratory.

Laboratory information management systems should come with full support and help in configuring the system to your laboratory or hospitals needs. A fully configurable database management system is needed in today’s laboratories and hospitals. The population is growing, and so their health issues come along with them. The management of this vast array of information is a must in this ever-changing world society.