InterSystems plans to launch next-generation laboratory business management system in 2016

Transformation in Laboratory Business Models Requires New Software Systems to Achieve Flexibility, Efficiency, and Improvements in Care Delivery

InterSystems, a global leader in software for connected care and developer of the InterSystems TrakCare^® unified healthcare information system, today announced that it will release its next-generation laboratory business management system (LBMS) in early 2016.

"The nature of the laboratory business is changing dramatically," said Martin Wilkinson, head of InterSystems' solutions for the laboratory market. "While the pressure to deliver more test results at lower cost will only intensify, advanced information technology will enable laboratory professionals to be the drivers of change, not the victims."

Market trends like healthcare industry consolidation are disrupting the laboratory business. Advances in automation, genomic testing, and the increased use of point-of-care testing will drive further shifts in where and when testing takes place. Next-generation systems will capture information at each stage of the healthcare continuum to enable unprecedented flexibility and clinical validity.

The Advent of Laboratory Business Management Systems

"Labs will inevitably need to move from a support service to a business that helps drive better healthcare outcomes," said Wilkinson. "The next generation of informatics solutions are designed to manage the lab as an agile, knowledge-driven business in an increasingly interconnected world. Today's laboratory information management systems fall short of what labs need. We are raising the bar by introducing the world's first laboratory business management system, or LBMS, which will help customers transform from a reactive testing and results service to a proactive healthcare partner."

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.