Laboratory information system for diagnostic centres and hospital labs
Shafa HMS Laboratory Information System (LIS) manages the laboratory from test order to signed report. It serves hospital laboratories, standalone diagnostic centres and pathology labs that take referrals from outside doctors. Orders placed in OPD, IPD or at the lab reception generate barcoded sample labels; technicians record collection, processing and results by department; a pathologist verifies and signs the report, which is then printed, delivered to the patient and attached to the record in Shafa EHR. Charges post to billing as soon as an order is accepted, reagent consumption flows to Inventory, and results are stored as coded observations for FHIR exchange.
- Barcode sample tracking
- Pathologist verification before release
- LOINC-coded results, FHIR exchange
- Runs offline during outages
Overview
Lab management software that follows the sample, not the paper
A laboratory loses time in the gaps: the requisition that never reached the bench, the tube with a smudged label, the result waiting for a signature nobody knows about. The LIS closes those gaps by giving every order a status that anyone with the right role can see. Reception knows what has been collected, the bench knows what is pending, and the pathologist sees a verification queue rather than a pile of printouts.
Test definitions are yours to configure: parameters, units, reference ranges by age and sex, critical limits, panels and profiles, and the sections that make up a printed report. Results can be typed, picked from a list, or received through HL7 messaging from systems that support it, and each value is checked against its range before a flag is shown. Reports carry the facility header, the consultant's signature block and the date and time of verification.
For diagnostic centres, the same system handles the commercial side: rate lists per referrer or corporate client, due and paid amounts on each order, role-based logins for collection points that book tests and print reports remotely, and referral statements at month end, ready for the accounts team. A hospital lab uses the same features with charges going to the patient's bill instead of a cash receipt.
Capabilities
Laboratory capabilities
The work of a laboratory in six parts, from the label on the tube to the numbers the director reviews.
- 1
Barcode sample tracking
Each order prints barcode labels per container. Scanning at collection, receipt in the section and result entry stamps time and user on the sample, so a missing tube is found by its last scan rather than by asking around. Rejected samples are logged with a reason and trigger a recollection request.
- 2
Order entry and departmental worklists
Orders come from OPD, wards or the lab front desk and are split automatically into biochemistry, haematology, microbiology, histopathology and other sections. Each section works from its own pending list, sees priority and sample status, and can enter results in batches when a run finishes.
- 3
Pathology lab result validation and sign-off
Results are checked against reference ranges and critical limits as they are entered, with abnormal values flagged. A two-step release means a technician enters and a pathologist verifies; nothing prints or leaves the lab until the second step is done. Amendments after release create a new version and keep the old one.
- 4
Lab report templates and delivery
Report layouts are configured per test group, with facility header, cumulative views for repeat tests and space for interpretive comments. Signed reports print at the lab or at a collection point, are attached to the patient record, and can be sent to the patient by SMS or email when they are ready.
- 5
Diagnostic centre billing and referrer management
Rate lists can differ by referrer, corporate client or scheme, with discounts controlled by role. Orders record due and paid amounts, and month-end referral statements are generated from the same data. Every cash receipt and credit sale posts to Accounts, so the lab's collection report and the ledger agree.
- 6
Lab management reports and quality control
Turnaround time by test and section, pending and overdue lists, rejected-sample rates, test volumes by referrer and reagent usage against tests performed are available as standard. Internal QC values can be recorded per analyte and reviewed over time, giving the lab director evidence for accreditation preparation rather than assertions.
Suite fit
How the LIS fits the rest of Shafa HMS
Laboratory data is only useful once it reaches the person who ordered it and the person who has to account for it. Because the LIS shares one database with the clinical and finance modules, an order, its charge, its reagent draw and its result are the same record viewed from four desks.
- OPD and IPD test orderstoLaboratory worklists
Doctor-entered orders appear in the relevant lab section with patient details, priority and clinical note attached.
- Accepted lab orderstoPatient billing and Accounts
Test charges are added to the patient bill or cash receipt at order acceptance and post to revenue by department.
- Verified resultstoShafa EHR and the ordering doctor
Signed reports attach to the patient record as coded observations and the ordering doctor is notified in the consultation screen.
- Tests performedtoInventory Management
Reagent and consumable usage is deducted from lab stock per test, so reorder alerts reflect actual workload.
Standards and compliance
Standards, security and reporting
The claims below describe the platform as it is today.
HL7 FHIR and LOINC-coded results
Results are stored as coded observations using LOINC and exchanged as HL7 FHIR resources, so another FHIR-capable system can read a report as data rather than as an image.
HL7 messaging
Shafa HMS supports HL7 messaging for exchanging orders and results with other systems that speak the same protocol, which is how most analyzer and middleware connections are made.
Role-based access and audit logs
Reception, technicians, pathologists and accounts staff each get the permissions their work needs. Result edits, report reprints and rate overrides are recorded with who, when and why.
Encryption in transit and at rest
Patient identifiers and results are encrypted on the wire and in storage, following HIPAA-style data handling practices.
Reporting formats used by DGHS
Test volume and surveillance-style summaries can be produced in the reporting formats used by DGHS from the lab's own records.
Bangla and English interface
Lab screens and report labels are available in Bangla and English; test names and comments print as the lab enters them.
Deployment
Deployment options
Diagnostic centres in district towns and hospital labs in Dhaka face different infrastructure. Shafa HMS therefore ships in three shapes: hosted in the cloud, installed on your own servers, or cloud with an offline edge node inside the lab. The LIS features are identical in each, and a facility can move between them later.
Cloud
Shafa Care hosts the platform with one database per facility, handles backups and patching, and provisions new collection points or branches as logins rather than installations.
On-premise
For laboratories that must keep results inside the building, the suite is installed on your hardware, air-gapped if required, and maintained by Shafa Care under a support agreement with scheduled site visits.
Offline sync
A lab edge node holds a local copy of the LIS. Sample receipt, result entry and report printing continue when the upstream link fails; queued actions sync in order once it is restored.
Who it is for
Who the LIS is for
Hospital laboratories
Labs inside a hospital that receive most orders from OPD and wards, bill through the patient account, and need results to appear in the doctor's screen without a courier.
Diagnostic centres
Standalone centres that live on referrals and walk-ins, manage rate lists per referrer, and want collection points and the main lab on one system with one report format.
Pathology and specialist labs
Histopathology, microbiology and other specialist labs with longer turnaround, narrative reports and multi-stage workflows that need each stage tracked and signed off separately by the responsible consultant.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is this LIS software suitable for a small lab with two or three technicians?
Yes. The module is configured by section and test, so a small lab enables only the sections it runs and adds histopathology or microbiology later. Barcode labels, two-step verification and printed reports work the same at any size, and the offline edge node matters as much to a two-person lab as to a large one.
How is the laboratory module priced?
Shafa HMS is sold as a subscription, priced by facility and by the modules enabled. Deployment model, number of branches and collection points affect the quote, so there is no single published figure. Share your test menu and site count and we will return a written proposal.
Can it connect to our analyzers?
Shafa HMS supports HL7 messaging, which is the common protocol used by laboratory analyzers and middleware to send results. Whether a specific instrument can be connected depends on its interface and firmware, so we review your analyzer list during scoping and confirm each connection before contract. Until an instrument is connected, results for it are entered manually with the same validation.
We currently print reports from Word templates. How do we migrate?
We start by loading your test menu, reference ranges and report layouts into the system, then run your most common reports side by side with the old templates until the lab director signs them off. Historical reports can be attached to patient records as files so the archive is searchable, without re-keying old results.
Does the lab keep working when the internet goes down?
With an offline edge node in the lab, yes. Samples can be received, results entered and reports printed while the link is down, and the queued work syncs to the central server in sequence once it returns. Reports released offline carry the same verification record as those released online.
Can we produce the periodic returns DGHS asks for?
Test volumes, positivity summaries and other periodic returns can be generated from the same records in the reporting formats used by DGHS, and exported for submission. Shafa Care has worked with DGHS on national digital-health initiatives, so the formats are familiar to our implementation team; we do not claim any certification, only that the reports are produced from live data.
Who owns the results data, and can we take it with us?
The laboratory owns its data. Orders, results and reports can be exported at any time in standard file formats, and because results are stored as coded observations they can be moved to another FHIR-capable system rather than re-typed. On-premise customers hold the database on their own servers throughout.
Shafa HMS · LIS
Walk through a sample from reception to signed report
Send us your test menu and a blank copy of your current report. In the demo we set up three of your tests, book an order, print the barcode, enter and verify results and show the report landing in the patient record and the day's collection.