OREM, UT – Integration capability weighs heavily on hospital executives replacing legacy lab systems and revenue management technology, according to two new reports from research firm KLAS.

Seventeen percent of hospitals with 200 beds or more plan to replace their lab systems within the next two years, according to KLAS.

The "Laboratory Information Systems - Performance/Perception" report reveals that the decision about which lab vendor to pursue is split between two camps: Deploy a feature-rich laboratory information system (LIS) to drive greater efficiency in the lab or go with an enterprise-wide solution that supports faster, easier integration with other clinical systems.

"In other words, is there an LIS that is so advanced that there is an obvious return on investment that supercedes the benefit from the integrated alternative?" the report asks.

The answer seems to be no. The report notes that cutting-edge LIS features currently have little impact on adoption trends, according to KLAS.

Most providers are not making use of advanced genetic- or molecular-testing capabilities, and most feel vendors have work to do to make those features more viable, the report concludes.

In KLAS' rankings, for large hospitals with greater than 200 beds, Siemens Novius Lab was the top-rated laboratory information system (83.2), with Sunquest Lab placing second (82.6) and McKesson Horizon Lab placing third (80.8). Among community hospitals, Orchard Harvest LIS took the top spot (91.5), followed by Antek LabDAQ (86.3) and Sunquest Lab (82.4).

Nearly 70 percent of the 266 providers interviewed for the report indicated there is no best LIS in their view, and that an LIS that is integrated or part of an enterprise solution is preferred,