Sample collection and management may sound a small part of the overall laboratory functioning but it is one of the most crucial aspects if you ask anyone familiar with the industry. This complex functioning is more than what meets the eye, it involves sample collection, tracking, processing, management and result reporting. It is the core that the all laboratory services revolve around.

A laboratory information management system (LIMS) is beneficial for the overall experience of the lab and almost everyone in the business of labs understands that by now. In this post we’ll share insights on how a smarter automated system can work wonders in the overall sample management process.

These below mentioned 5 things are all the more important in multi center and multi city scenario.

Barcode Creation:

A smart laboratory information system (LIMS) helps in creating a unique bar code for every sample collected right from the point of sample collection. So, just with a small machine like bar code scanner can make the sample management system a whole lot convenient. Take for example that a sample is collected in location A and needs to be taken to location B for processing the results and further to location C for storage of the sample. All along the process, bar code scanners will save the location of the sample as it progresses through the system. Not only will it help by creating a digital identity of the sample to track but also these unique bar codes can save all pathological information about the client under a single ID. This would make the information easy to gather and store.

No More Losing Samples:

Through laboratory information systems, samples will be labeled from the point of sample collection. The unique bar code will not be something hand written that there may be chances of wrong labeling. Also by scanning the bar code at every point of entry and exit in the system or location, the chances of losing samples become as good as negligible. This would result in better reporting and a reputation of being error free.

Sample Retrieval:

Archiving samples is very tricky for a lab. Consider the fact that a lab conducts tests on a sample and shares the reports with the patients, what happens to samples now? Nothing, the lab may decide to throw them away or keep in a storage. But with an automated and smart system, the samples with bar code are put in a cold storage and the exact location of the sample can be mapped with the computer in case the sample needs to be further examined. The unique ID makes it simpler to retrieve information from servers and actual samples from cold storages as the need arises.

Easy Access to Data from Anywhere:

A smart laboratory information management system helps to tag every sample to a unique ID of the patient. Hence every sample collected from the patient, every result, all history of the patient are saved on the servers of the LIMS. What does it mean for you? It means that all history of every patient is available on your lab computer with just the click of a button. This is all the more beneficial in the multi center and multi location labs.

Storage Space Management:

Labelling, storing and retrieving samples is easy with the LIMS. But what is really useful for the lab is the management of its limited storage space. Every sample inside a cold storage cannot stay fresh forever, so what a sample management module of the laboratory information management system does is send out alerts when the sample passes its expiry date. Meaning that when the sample is no longer fit for testing, the LIMS would send out alerts to the staff to clear those samples from the cold storage. This would in turn help in space management inside the cold storage and prevent retesting on old samples for results.

Automation in today’s laboratories is inevitable. So for improving the patient experience, increasing employee motivation and increasing operational & cost efficiency – AUTOMATION cannot be ignored.

Reach out to Caredata Inc. and schedule a demo for one of most advanced automated Laboratory Information Management System in the world.