Cardinal Medical Laboratory: A Lesson in Laboratory Information Management Systems with Clinical Chemistry Cases

Project Abstract: Medical laboratory science is a health profession focused on the analysis of biological specimens and the dissemination of that information to clinicians for medical decision-making and treatment of disease. This field is rapidly growing, often including massive leaps in the integration of technology into the daily routine of an MLS. In particular, the laboratory information system (LIS) is software whose introduction into the laboratory was made necessary by the growth of the field and the implementation of increasingly automated methods for patient testing. The LIS allows the technologist to communicate with the automated analyzers, evaluate information sent from the analyzers, and send information to the patient chart for use by the providers while limiting the risks of transcription errors and increasing efficiency. Although the LIS is used ubiquitously in the field, university-based MLS programs have struggled to integrate this functionality into the student experience because of the stifling initial cost of implementation and ongoing cost associated with hiring specialized service professionals to manage the LIS.