Diagnostics
Take lab orders from OPD, IPD and emergency into one queue, track every sample, capture results from analyzers or by hand, and release reports with fewer hand-offs.
In short
DevOrbital's laboratory information system (LIS) manages the full order-to-report cycle for hospital labs and standalone diagnostic centres. It supports manual entry, typed reports and templates, can interface with analyzers where a hospital owns them, and runs on the same workflow as radiology, cardiology and endoscopy, so no machine is ever mandatory.
The problem
Handwritten labels and verbal hand-offs between the collection counter, ward and lab make it hard to say where a sample is, or to prove it belongs to the right patient.
Technicians read values off an analyzer printout and key them in again. Each transcription is a chance for an error and a delay before the report is released.
Outpatient walk-ins, ward orders and urgent emergency requests arrive through different channels, so priority is decided by whoever shouts loudest.
Free-typed formats, missing reference ranges and unsigned printouts make reports hard to trust and hard to retrieve when a doctor or patient asks months later.
How it works
Tests are ordered from OPD, IPD or emergency, or registered directly at the lab counter for walk-in patients.
Samples are collected against the order and labelled so each tube links back to one patient and one test list.
Routine and high-priority emergency work share one queue, ordered by urgency.
Results arrive from an interfaced analyzer, or technicians enter them manually against the right test.
A senior reviews values, adds typed comments or template text, and releases the report.
The report reaches the ordering doctor and patient record, and charges flow to billing.
What's included
Use it on its own — or connected
The LIS works as a standalone laboratory system for a diagnostic centre or a hospital lab that is not ready to change anything else. When bundled with the wider platform, orders arrive from the ward and OPD automatically, results flow back into the patient record, and charges reach billing without double entry.
Pairs naturally with:
Machine integration
Who it's for
Illustrative scenario · not a customer story
A busy morning without the pile-up
Lab in-charge
At eight in the morning the lab has outpatient walk-ins at the counter, ward orders from last night and an urgent emergency request. In the LIS they sit in one queue, with the emergency case at the top. Samples are labelled at collection, analyzers send results where they are interfaced, and technicians type the rest. The in-charge reviews values, releases reports, and sees at a glance which tests are still pending instead of walking the benches to find out.
A laboratory information system is the software layer between the doctor who orders a test and the report that comes back. It receives the order, tracks the sample through collection and processing, captures results, applies reference ranges and templates, supports a verification step and publishes the final report. It also tells billing what was done.
In a hospital, the value comes from the connections: the lab is not a separate island but part of the hospital management system. For a plain-English walkthrough of the pieces, read our laboratory information system guide.
Many analyzers can send results to a computer through a communication protocol. ASTM and HL7 are commonly used, over a serial or network connection. A LIS receives these messages, matches them to the right order and shows the result for review. For orders, some analyzers can also be sent the test list so technicians do not enter it twice.
Whether a specific machine can be connected depends on its output interface, so each device is assessed individually during onboarding. DevOrbital is capable of integrating with analyzers but never assumes a model will work before it is reviewed. See lab analyzer integration and the deeper article on LIS analyzer interfacing with ASTM and HL7.
Turnaround time (TAT) is the gap between order and released report. Most of the delay in a manual lab is not machine time. It is waiting: for a sample to arrive, for a result to be re-keyed, for someone to verify, for a report to be printed and carried to the ward.
A LIS shortens those gaps by putting every pending item on one screen, ordering work by priority and removing re-keying where analyzers are interfaced. Our articles on reducing lab turnaround time and barcode sample tracking go step by step, and the faster lab turnaround page maps the goal to modules.
Yes. A diagnostic centre needs walk-in registration, billing at the counter, sample tracking and printed or shared reports, and it often has no ward to serve. A hospital lab needs the same tools plus inpatient and emergency orders. The same DevOrbital workflow serves both, and it is shared with radiology, cardiology and endoscopy, so adding a service line is a configuration exercise.
See how this applies to diagnostic centres and pathology labs. Labs working toward NABL accreditation can use the audit trail and consistent report templates as part of their own quality documentation. The software supports that preparation; accreditation itself is assessed by the accrediting body.
FAQ
A LIS is software that manages lab orders, sample tracking, result entry, verification and report release. In a hospital it connects the laboratory to OPD, IPD, emergency and billing, so tests ordered by doctors reach the lab, results return to the patient record, and charges flow to the bill without anyone re-typing them. Standalone diagnostic centres use it the same way, without the ward links.
No. The LIS supports manual result entry, typed reports and templates, so a lab can run fully without any machine interfacing. Analyzers can be connected later, one at a time, whenever the hospital wants automatic result capture. That means you can start using the system quickly and add interfacing as your equipment and budget allow, without changing the workflow.
It depends on each analyzer's output interface. DevOrbital is capable of interfacing with biochemistry, haematology, immunoassay and similar equipment, commonly over protocols such as ASTM or HL7. Each device is assessed, configured and tested during onboarding before it is enabled, and we do not promise that a particular model will work until it has been reviewed.
Yes. Walk-ins registered at the lab counter, ward orders from IPD and emergency requests all enter one queue, and high-priority emergency work can be placed ahead of routine tests. This avoids separate lists and informal priority decisions, and gives the in-charge a single place to see what is pending, what is in progress and what is ready to release.
Yes. The module runs on its own with patient registration, billing, sample handling and reporting, so a centre does not need the rest of the hospital platform. If the centre later adds radiology, cardiology or other services, they use the same order-to-report workflow, so new service lines are a configuration exercise rather than a new software project.
The system audit trail records every create, edit and delete with the user and the time, and role permissions control who can verify or amend results. This gives lab heads a reviewable history when a report is corrected, and supports the internal quality records that labs keep as part of their own processes.
Yes. Tests ordered and completed appear as charges in unified billing, including for insurance or TPA patients, so the billing counter does not need to re-enter what the lab has already done. This also reduces the chance of tests being performed but never billed, which is a common source of lost revenue in manual setups.
Keep exploring
Lab & Diagnostics
Laboratory Information System (LIS): A Complete Guide
● DevOrbital HMS
Lab & Diagnostics · 9 min read
What a laboratory information system does, from order to report: sample tracking, analyzer interfacing, quality and TAT, and how to choose one in India.
Read this guideLab & Diagnostics
LIS Analyzer Interfacing: ASTM and HL7 Explained
● DevOrbital HMS
Lab & Diagnostics · 7 min read
How LIS analyzer interfacing works: ASTM and HL7 messages, serial and TCP/IP links, test mapping, staged testing and what to ask a vendor first.
Read this guideLab & Diagnostics
How to Reduce Lab Turnaround Time in a Hospital Lab
● DevOrbital HMS
Lab & Diagnostics · 6 min read
Practical ways to reduce lab turnaround time: define TAT, find delays in the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical stages, and fix them.
Read this guideTell us about your facility and we will walk you through the modules that fit — one department or the whole hospital.
