The laboratory information systems (LIS/LIMS) market will grow in the 6 percent range annually in the next few years, up from $800 million in 2010, forecasts a new report from research firm Kalorama Information.

Tomorrow's laboratories will utilize advanced diagnostic and information management technologies, such as digital pathology and molecular studies, and they will require sophisticated, fast, easy-to-use and, most importantly, interoperable laboratory information systems (LIS) to handle the resulting more complex and high volume data, according to the report Laboratory Information Systems (LIS/LIMS) Markets.

Because labor accounts for more than 60 percent of the cost of producing test results, automation and better information management systems effectively can reduce the number of hands-on procedures in a lab and optimize the efficiency of labor, researchers say.

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Many operations still use manual processes for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data. It is estimated that more than two thirds of laboratories operate with less than half of their instruments interfacing with an LIS. But with growing pressures to cut costs, increase efficiencies and quality of care, and report test results in real time, labs must plan for more sophisticated LIS if they wish to remain competitive, Kalorama concludes.
 
"The vendors with a long-term view are developing a next-generation of LIS that will meet the needs that even many of today's systems cannot provide," says Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information. "Hospitals are rapidly automating, and clinical lab information systems will need to offer features such as an interface with electronic charting, EMRs, real-time data integration, reporting, analytics and data visualization, and insurance billing software."

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An LIS will need to reach into multiple systems to gather data. For example, a clinic or a hospital may not have a complex laboratory, but it may have small POC analyzers throughout the facility. The important challenge is to move the results from the analyzers to a patient's EMR. As more disciplines come online, this will be achieved more easily, says Carlson.
 
In addition, both pathology and molecular biology are becoming increasingly automated and digitized as products become more economically viable due to rising volumes, and they are helping to fuel the growth of LIS. Yet few LIS vendors currently offer products that are specifically designed to handle molecular diagnostics and pathology.
 
Kalorama Information's Laboratory Information Systems (LIS/LIMS) Markets report focuses on the market for LIS for clinical health care labs (software and hardware) and pharmaceutical drug discovery laboratories. It provides market size and forecast data, an analysis of suppliers competing in the LIMS market, an overview of the industry and important trends.