The Value of a Custom LIS

Commissioning a Custom LIS for Your Lab

Many laboratory software vendors offer a number of pre-packaged solutions, but not many are willing to work with you personally to create a custom LIS. Now that the technology has been around for a significant amount of time, it’s easy for companies to build a basic system and hand it over, dedicating more of their time and energy toward what they feel are more lucrative ventures. This gets you a functional system that can cover your bare-bones needs, but may not be able to interface with all the systems and locations necessary for optimal performance.

This is why a customized LIS fits like a glove that was literally made just for you. When researching automation options, you should definitely consider companies who specialize in Laboratory Information Systems, rather than larger companies that offer LIS software as an afterthought to their bigger (and more expensive) products. An interface should not be an throwaway consideration. You need to find a vendor who not only cares about the product they’re offering, but has the experience and focus necessary to give you the best quality system they possibly can. When their specialty is LIS software, it’s usually a sign that their focus is on quality, rather than packaging something up and offering minimal support for it.

The Customization Your Lab Needs

Typically, companies that don’t put much weight behind their LIS offerings also don’t offer the sort of support coverage or customization your lab might need. They hope they can give you a bandage that will cover the worst of it and that you’ll be okay with that. However, as we’ve illustrated through many of our posts, a custom LIS has the capability of stretching far beyond the obvious and into numerous ways to make your job easier and save you money in the meantime. Customization allows you to unlock the full capabilities of your system. After all, what’s the point in investing in the system at all if you’re not going to get your money’s worth?

The cost difference is often barely noticeable when compared to the pre-packaged options, and depending on the vendor, sometimes a customized LIS can cost even less than one of the “plug-and-play” choices. For more examples of the full capabilities of LIS software, please peruse some of our other posts. And don’t forget to let us know if you have any questions or would like to discuss the sort of customization your lab may need!

For any additional information, a free demo, or a personalized quote, please contact us!