How Lab24 bridges the gap between the EHR and the LIS

The Complexity Behind the Scenes

For healthcare professionals, requesting laboratory tests should be straightforward and user-friendly. However, a great deal goes into successfully digitalising this process. For Senior Consultant Arjan de Jong, this is part of everyday work: “Healthcare organisations often collaborate with multiple laboratories, and each laboratory has its own workflows and unique characteristics. Processes can even differ within a single laboratory — for example, larger laboratories that have emerged through the merger of several smaller labs. One name does not necessarily mean one standard way of working.”

So what kinds of differences are we talking about? On the one hand, there are the exchange standards supported by the laboratory. On the other hand, there are the laboratory’s own workflows, which are not part of the standard itself but still need to be incorporated into the process. What is the ‘end destination’ for specific types of information? Which LIS fields are used for which purposes? What information must be exchanged to support the logistical side of the sample collection process?

Integration with the EHR

Integration with the EHR can be achieved in several ways. When using the mConsole EHR, the integration is native. For other EHR systems, Lab24 can be integrated through screen integration (optionally via an iframe) or through APIs.

By making Lab24 available through single sign-on within the EHR, healthcare professionals can continue working within their familiar environment. Notifications regarding results can also be received directly within the EHR. The results themselves remain securely within Lab24, but thanks to the integration they are still easily accessible from within the EHR.

The Connection with the LIS

Everything begins with the laboratory request, but this request must then be transferred completely and accurately to the LIS. HL7 v2 is commonly used for sending requests, although exchange through the more modern FHIR standard is also possible. For returning laboratory results, organisations often choose HL7 or Edifact.

You may be wondering: wouldn’t it make more sense to use HL7 for both workflows? Not necessarily.

“There can certainly be advantages to using multiple exchange standards alongside one another. For example, an Edifact integration is often quicker to implement because it usually makes use of existing communication platforms such as Zorgring or ZorgMail.

HL7 messages are typically exchanged through secure connections such as VPN tunnels or closed networks, which can make implementation more complex. However, HL7 also offers advantages because it is a more extensive standard, allowing for richer contextual information to be exchanged — such as status updates.

Based on these considerations, clients often choose an HL7 integration with the main laboratory, supplemented by an Edifact integration for additional laboratory results. At Lab24, we support all of these scenarios.”

Arjan de Jong, Senior Consultant at CODE24

Lab24 has also been designed with recurring laboratory orders in mind, whether through order sets or protocols. In many cases, this is not supported as standard by the LIS, but Lab24 has developed a way to process such orders smoothly without disrupting the laboratory’s existing workflows.

More Than Just the EHR and the LIS: An Ecosystem of Data

Laboratory results can also provide essential context for other healthcare processes, which are often supported by separate subsystems. Examples include an Electronic Prescribing System (EPS), a Personal Health Environment (PHE), a Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM) system, or an eHealth platform.

Through active integrations with partners such as FarMedvisie, Roqua and Minddistrict, Lab24 acts as a crucial connector – both for linking data streams and for creating clarity within a fragmented healthcare IT landscape.

No Administrative Burden

At the heart of Lab24 lies the process of submitting requests and receiving results. However, anyone familiar with the day-to-day reality of healthcare organisations will know that there is another important layer involved in this process: administration.

Lab24 not only supports the clinical workflow, but also ensures that all relevant information for administrative and logistical processing is transferred completely and correctly. Laboratories, for example, must be able to invoice accurately. Thanks to the integration with the EHR, Lab24 can effortlessly retrieve the correct cost centre and include it with the order.

Naturally, this eliminates a significant amount of manual administrative work while substantially reducing the risk of errors.

Bringing Calm to the Process

Much of Lab24’s strength lies in what the end user never sees. The platform functions as the intelligent ‘bridge’ that handles all the complex translations, exchange standards and process steps behind the scenes. The end user simply experiences a clear overview of requests and fast access to results.

"What we have built with Lab24 is incredibly powerful. The processes surrounding laboratory orders are actually highly complex, and all the intelligence required to manage that complexity is already embedded within the product.

We also see a future in which we can further optimise Lab24’s role as a connector between systems and processes, making the solution more accessible to smaller organisations as well. For example, we are exploring ways to reuse and standardise integrations through a one-to-many approach. We are currently developing this actively together with various partners."

Niels Greidanus, CEO of CODE24

By using Lab24 as the connection between the EHR, the LIS and various subsystems, organisations choose a future-proof IT infrastructure in which interoperability is the standard and manual processes become a thing of the past.