One patient, one MRN, one built-in ledger, one live command centre — from the registration counter to the operating theatre.
Why EloHIMSLaboratory Information System (LIS / LIMS) for Hospitals
A laboratory information management system — LIMS, or LIS as hospital labs usually say — records every test from order to released report. In EloHIMS it is part of the hospital record: orders arrive from OPD, wards and emergency with their priority, samples are barcoded, results come from the bench or a connected analyser, and nothing leaves the lab until a technologist has verified it and a pathologist has signed it out.
What a laboratory information system does
A lab management system replaces the request slip, the sample register and the result book with one record per test: who ordered it and how urgently, which sample it ran on, who entered the result, who verified it, who signed it out and what it was billed. LIS and LIMS are used interchangeably for clinical labs. In a hospital, the difference that matters is whether that record is part of the patient's file.
In EloHIMS it is. Results file to the patient's 360° record, go back to the doctor who ordered them, and post to the same bill and ledger as every other department. Running a walk-in testing business rather than a hospital lab? See lab software for standalone diagnostic centres.
Everything the bench needs, from order to verified report
Orders from OPD, wards and emergency
In the consultation the doctor picks the tests, marks them Routine, Urgent or STAT and adds clinical notes; if the notes are left empty, the primary diagnosis goes with the order instead. Nobody re-types a slip.
Tests ordered on the inpatient chart become real lab orders on the section worklist, tagged as ward orders, and are charged to the admission — they reach the final bill, not a separate cash bill. Emergency orders default to STAT, sort first on the worklist and pool on the ER running bill; if the patient is admitted, those charges move to the admission without being billed twice.
Pre-analytical, analytical, post-analytical — one continuous rail
Studies indicate that 60–70% of laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical phase[1] — wrong patient, wrong tube, haemolysis, mislabel. Barcoding, positive patient identification and sample-condition capture are aimed squarely at that phase.
Home sample collection runs
With home collection switched on, the lab order form offers a home visit: the patient's address, area and phone are pre-filled and a preferred time is recorded. The lab plans runs from the waiting pool — for a staff login, or simply a name for a phlebotomist without one — adds or removes stops, and prints the run sheet.
At each stop the sample is marked Collected, which is the desk's own Collect stamped with the phlebotomist's name, or Missed with a reason. Finishing a run returns any stop not reached as missed. The order shows a home strip with the address, visit time, status and run, and an optional home-visit fee is its own line on the bill.
Analyser interface: HL7 v2 and ASTM
Under Laboratory › Analysers the lab sets up each instrument by protocol — HL7 v2 (ORU^R01) or ASTM E1394 — over a TCP socket or through a drop folder, and maps the analyser's test codes to catalogue parameters. An unmapped code falls back to the parameter's own code or LOINC.
The specimen barcode or accession number finds the sample. Results land as entered, not released: flagged against the lab's own age/sex ranges and still verified by a technologist. A value that is already verified, a different unit, a rejected specimen or a cancelled order is refused, and every message is logged line by line with its outcome. The interface is available per hospital and switched on when the lab adds an analyser; until then nothing changes.
Two-tier verification and sign-out
Every result passes two people. The technologist checks it at the bench and marks it verified; the pathologist reviews the order and signs it out. Sign-out is refused while any result on the order is still only entered — the screen names the analytes still waiting — and only verified results are released. Analyser results follow the same rule.
A result cannot be entered against a rejected sample. Rejecting a sample records the reason and raises a fresh sample with its own barcode for recollection; rejecting after release is refused. Amendments keep the prior value and the reason, and every step records who and when — collection, entry, verification, sign-out.
What is ISO 15189 LIMS?
An ISO 15189 LIMS is laboratory software that supports the quality system ISO 15189 asks of a medical laboratory: results released only after authorised sign-off, barcoded sample tracking from collection to sign-out, a record of who collected, entered, verified and signed out each result, and a logged reason for every rejected sample. In Pakistan, ISO 15189 accreditation is granted by PNAC to the laboratory, not to its software.
In EloHIMS, the workflow is built around the two-tier verification ISO 15189 describes for medical laboratories, and the records it keeps — who collected, entered, verified and signed out each result, rejected samples and their reasons, turnaround times — are the kind of evidence an assessor asks to see. Accreditation itself is granted to a laboratory on the strength of its own quality system, by PNAC in Pakistan; software supports that work but cannot grant or guarantee it.
The controls a lab quality manager looks for
Enforced by the workflow, not by a checklist.
Results back to the doctor — critical first
When the pathologist signs out an order, the ordering doctor gets a row in the Results Inbox on My Day. A result with a critical (HH or LL) value is marked critical, and the inbox lists unseen and critical results first. Opening a row lands on the same consultation, with a Results panel showing the released values.
If the visit note is already signed, the doctor adds an addendum: append-only and stamped with date and user, so the original note is never altered. The patient can be told the report is ready through the hospital's own SMS or WhatsApp rule and, where the patient portal is switched on, sees released reports only.
Outsourced tests and partner labs
Tests the lab does not run in-house go to a partner lab set up with its own rate card. "Send out" on the order moves the test to a "With a partner lab" column on the worklist — and refuses a test with no rate, one already resulted in-house, or one already out.
When the partner's report comes back, marking it received or entering the results brings the test home, and the printed report says "Performed at [partner] (referral laboratory)". The partner-lab statement shows the cost, your price and the margin for every test sent out, so a test priced below its outsourcing cost shows up before month-end.
From numeric chemistry to narrative histopathology
A hierarchical, rule-driven test catalogue
Tests group into panels and profiles — CBC, LFT, RFT, Lipid Profile, a "Fever Profile" that bundles CBC + MP + Widal + Dengue + Urine R/E. Every measured analyte carries its units and a reference range that varies by age, sex and method, and the lab maintains its own validated ranges. Some parameters are calculated: eGFR from creatinine, age and sex; LDL by Friedewald; the A/G ratio.
Because ranges are versioned data, the report prints the range that was actually applied — a snapshot copied onto the result, not the current catalogue value — so a later edit never rewrites history.
Lab billing in the same ledger as the hospital
The lab runs on the rails the rest of EloHIMS already uses — patient identity and MRN, pricing, cash shifts, receipts and the general ledger. Lab revenue posts to Laboratory Revenue in the same double-entry ledger. Walk-in payments are collected inside a cashier shift, which a lab-only biller can open; ward and emergency tests go to the admission or ER bill; panel patients are charged the panel's price on credit and appear on the monthly panel invoice. More on hospital billing and accounting.
A closed order-to-result loop: every sample barcoded, every result verified before release, filed to the record, billed, and back with the doctor who ordered it.
Part of the diagnostic backbone
- Frequency and types of pre-analytical errors in a clinical laboratory. PMC. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10844902/
See the lab close the loop — order to verified result.
Ward and ER orders with priority, barcoded specimens, analyser results, two-tier sign-out and results back to the doctor — every result verified, filed and billed.
Laboratory Management System FAQs
Answers to the questions hospitals ask us most.
What is a laboratory management system (LIMS)?
A laboratory management system (LIMS, or LIS in hospital labs) records every test from order to released report: the order and its priority, the barcoded sample, the result, who verified it, who signed it out and what was billed. In EloHIMS it is part of the hospital record: orders arrive from OPD, wards and emergency, results return to the ordering doctor's inbox, and charges post to the same bill and ledger as every other department.
What is the difference between LIMS and LIS?
LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) and LIS (Laboratory Information System) are functionally identical in healthcare contexts. Both manage diagnostic lab workflows from sample accession to result reporting. LIMS is preferred in Pakistan’s diagnostic lab sector, while LIS is common in hospital-integrated labs. EloHIMS uses the term LIS to emphasize clinical integration.
Does EloHIMS help a lab working towards ISO 15189 accreditation?
EloHIMS is built around the two-tier verification ISO 15189 describes: a technologist verifies each result, a pathologist signs out, and sign-out is refused while any result is still unverified. It records who collected, entered, verified and signed out every result, and keeps rejected samples with their reasons — the kind of evidence an assessor asks to see. Accreditation is granted to the laboratory, by PNAC in Pakistan, on its own quality system; software cannot grant or guarantee it.
Can diagnostic labs use EloHIMS without the hospital modules?
Yes, EloHIMS laboratory module operates independently as a standalone LIMS for diagnostic labs, pathology centers, and reference labs. You can license only the lab module with billing and patient registration, without OPD/IPD modules. The system supports walk-in patients, doctor referrals, and corporate panel clients with custom pricing.
Does EloHIMS support home sample collection?
Yes. With home collection switched on, the lab order form offers a home visit with the patient's address, area and phone pre-filled and a preferred time. The lab plans phlebotomist runs from a waiting pool, prints a run sheet and labels carrying the address and phone, and marks each stop Collected or Missed with a reason. An optional home-visit fee appears as its own line on the bill.
What is controlled result release in a laboratory?
Controlled result release means no result leaves the lab until it has been checked and authorised. In EloHIMS a technologist first verifies each result, then a pathologist signs out the order; sign-out is refused while any result is still only entered, and the screen names the analytes still waiting. Results from an analyser follow the same rule. Only released results reach the ordering doctor's inbox and the patient portal.
Does EloHIMS support sending tests to a reference or partner lab?
Yes. Each partner lab is set up with a rate card of per-test costs. Send out on the order moves a test to a With a partner lab worklist column, and is refused for a test with no rate, one already resulted in-house or one already out. When the report returns, marking it received or entering the results brings it back, and the printed report says it was performed at the partner (referral laboratory). A statement shows cost, price and margin per test.
Can EloHIMS interface with laboratory analysers?
Yes. Under Laboratory › Analysers, each instrument is set up by protocol — HL7 v2 (ORU^R01) or ASTM E1394 — over a network socket or a drop folder, with its test codes mapped to catalogue parameters. The specimen barcode or accession number finds the sample; results arrive as entered, flagged against the lab's own ranges, and are still verified by a technologist. Wrong units, rejected specimens and cancelled orders are refused, and every message is logged. It is switched on per hospital.