 Laboratory Management System: Public
Health and Healthcare
Laboratory management system Introduction
Public Health informatics is an area of increasing
concern for authorities around the world. The need for comprehensive
disease surveillance has never been greater, and there is the continuing
requirement to track possible epidemics and pandemics. Health monitoring
linked to disease rates and possible causative effects continues to be
high on the public health agenda.
In an attempt to streamline local, state and federal
disease surveillance and reporting, the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has developed guidelines for communication of laboratory
data that was set forth in the documentation of National Electronic
Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS). Additionally, the Association of
Public Health Laboratories (APHL) has defined some common elements that
describe a Public Health Laboratory Information System. These include
areas such as human and environmental laboratory test processing, test
scheduling, proactive sample collection, chain of custody for specimen and
samples, quality control and assurance, statistical analysis and
surveillance, inventory control, including kit and form management,
billing for laboratory management system services, training, education and resource
management and others.
STARLIMS is specifically designed to fully integrate
the daily functions of a multidisciplinary public health laboratory and
manage analytical data covering a variety of diverse health care programs.
STARLIMS offers comprehensive public health reporting, surveillance and
networking capabilities compatible with national and international
standards. Through its involvement in United States and international
public health laboratory projects, STARLIMS Corporation has incorporated
into its STARLIMS PHL solution suite comprehensive tools for managing the
information supporting PHL business processes consistent with guidelines
set forth by NEDSS and the APHL.
STARLIMS provides support of complex multi-step
processes typical to microbiology testing. The integrated microbiology
module allows configuration of the properties for these processes
including; the number of stages, the order, the time span between them and
the information required to be recorded at each of these steps. These
properties may be determined through a predefined scientific logic driving
the process in accordance to results captured in previous steps.
STARLIMS has also achieved considerable success in the
area of genetic screening and the management of genetic samples and
information in both research and health authorities. Because of the
comprehensive sample and information management capabilities of the system
combined with support for genetic analysis and plate management STARLIMS
is the idea solution for the management of this type of information.
Laboratory management system Solutions
STARLIMS solutions for Public Health are designed to
support these laboratories, by providing the technologies to manage the
large amounts of data and helping them meet regulatory and reporting
requirements. Designed to fully support the daily functions of public
health organizations, STARLIMS also offers powerful reporting and
management functionalities.
STARLIMS addresses the needs of Public Health
laboratories by providing functionalities such as:
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A framework for
linking between regional PHLs (PHIN - Public Health Information Network)
STARLIMS complies with HL7 messaging protocols while using LOINC and
SNOMED as the common vocabulary for test names and observations
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Support for all 16 Business Processes
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Management tools for common vocabularies
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Sample Accessioning and Meta Data recording
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A repository for analytical process Best Practices
Workflow design and management
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A collaboration platform for exchanging data and system content
Tools for managing information related to mutual assistance, surge
capacity and disaster recovery
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Full support for bar-coding for sample tracking and location management
Comprehensive tools for managing and supporting microbiological testing
Comprehensive tools for managing genetic screening and research projects
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Integration with equipment typically found within Public health
laboratories including clinical analyzers, automated sample storage
systems, and liquid and plate handling systems
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Web based interfaces that can allow physicians and others responsible for
submitting samples to submit requests and review results on line -
eliminating issues of incorrectly completed submission sheets and personal
requests to lab staff for result information
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Integration with other systems that may be in use such as Patient
Management Systems achieved through the use of a Web Services approach
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In addition, the inherent flexibility of the system
means that changes to business needs and working practices can be readily
supported and implemented without losing existing functionality or data.
STARLIMS is fully web-based and uses familiar user interfaces, which
simplifies both user training and implementation in new sites or new parts
of the organization. Global and multi-site deployment is also facilitated
thanks to web-based technology.
To Learn More about STARLIMS LIMS
Solutions, see also:
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