The National MedLIS project aims to set up an integrated nation-wide laboratory information system.
This new system will improve the delivery of diagnostic laboratory medicine, healthcare quality efficiency and outcomes for 4.2 million people.
About the MedLIS project
The provision of high-quality laboratory services is a critical component of patient care. It includes diagnostic, monitoring and screening services.
Laboratory services are vital for the day-to-day operation of all healthcare services; both acute and community-based. Laboratories that provide services for testing of patient samples are located within acute hospitals mainly.
The project will take in the entire laboratory service across all public hospitals sites. There are 43 hospital laboratories providing diagnostic laboratory medicine nationwide.
The model will facilitate the electronic patient-centred storage of complete laboratory diagnostic data. Clinicians and other health care providers will have user-friendly access to the full laboratory information on each patient on a 24/7 basis.
The system will be implemented initially in Cavan and Monaghan Hospital. The plan is to roll it out nationally after this.
Benefits of the project
The MedLIS project will deliver significant benefits to the pathology service, clinicians and local health care providers within the local healthcare community who use the service.
These include:
- a reduction in test duplication
- the wider availability of results to healthcare providers
- faster electronic accessing of these results
- enhanced clinical audit,
- a more comprehensive and robustly stored patient laboratory record.
MedLIS will allow for laboratory information to be shared with relevant health care providers in line with clinical need and data protection requirements.
The system will have full audit capability in line with modern information governance standards applied to health systems globally.
The new system will support the clinical and business needs of all laboratories. It will also support HSE objectives in relation to laboratory services in the context of patient care for the next decade or so.
