Laboratory Information System (LIS) & Specimen Tracking

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Laboratory Information System (LIS) & Specimen Tracking within SmartERP.

Manage laboratory specimen intake, barcode accessioning, automated analyzer interfaces, quality control, and result verification.

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2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: smarterp_healthcare, smarterp_clinical_core, smarterp_pharmacy
• Security Groups:
  • Healthcare Receptionist (Technical ID: smarterp_healthcare.group_medical_receptionist)
  • Physician / Attending Doctor (Technical ID: smarterp_healthcare.group_medical_doctor)
  • Pharmacy Dispenser (Technical ID: smarterp_healthcare.group_medical_pharmacist)
• Master Data Dependencies: Patient master registry (Medical Record Number - MRN), EFDA drug formulary, Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MoH) HMIS disease codes, and EHIS insurance tariffs.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the Healthcare app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open Healthcare → Clinical Dashboard → OPD Triage / Inpatient ADT / EMR / Pharmacy Dispensing.

{screenshot:laboratory-information-system-lis-app-switcher-navigation}

Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Medical Record Number (MRN) (Mandatory): Unique national health identifier or generated hospital record code
   • Patient Demographics (Mandatory): Full legal name, gender, date of birth, and Kebele residential location
   • Encounter Type (Mandatory): Outpatient (OPD), Inpatient (IPD), Emergency, or Triage consultation
   • Attending Physician (Mandatory): Licensed healthcare practitioner responsible for clinical encounter
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Insurance Provider & Policy (Optional): EHIS CBHI/SHI policy or corporate credit contract
   • Triage Vital Signs (Optional): Blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and SpO2
   • ICD-11 / HMIS Diagnosis Code (Optional): Standardized diagnosis category for statutory health reporting
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

{screenshot:laboratory-information-system-lis-record-creation-form}

Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Reception / Triage → Consultation → Lab / Radiology → Prescription → Billing / Discharge).
• Ledger & System Impact: Patient billing registers medical service revenue, debits patient or insurance accounts receivable, and debits pharmaceutical inventory upon prescription dispensing.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

{screenshot:laboratory-information-system-lis-transaction-processing-state}

Laboratory Specimen Intake & Barcoding#

The Laboratory Information System (LIS) connects diagnostic orders directly from clinical workstations to laboratory benches:

1. Navigate to Healthcare > Laboratory > Specimen Intake.
2. Scan the patient's MRN or select from the pending phlebotomy worklist.
3. The system generates unique, barcoded specimen accession labels:
   • Label Content: Specimen ID (SPEC-2026-9481), Patient Name, MRN, Tube Type (e.g., EDTA Purple, Gel Yellow, Citrate Blue), Collection Timestamp.
4. Affix the label to the sample container and click Accept Specimen.

Automated Diagnostic Analyzers & Workbenches#

SmartERP LIS supports bidirectional ASTM and HL7 interfaces with laboratory analyzers:

• Hematology Analyzers: Automated 5-part differential complete blood counts (Sysmex, Mindray).
• Clinical Chemistry Analyzers: Liver and renal function panels, electrolytes, lipid profiles (Roche Cobas, Beckman Coulter).
• Immunoassay Analyzers: Thyroid profiles, viral serology, cardiac biomarkers.

Results flow automatically from instrument serial/TCP connections into patient test lines, eliminating transcription errors.

Manual Result Entry & Reference Ranges#

For manual testing (e.g., Urinalysis microscopy, stool examination, Gram stain):

1. Open the test order on the bench worklist.
2. Input quantitative and qualitative parameters.
3. The system compares entries against age- and gender-adjusted biological reference ranges:
   • Values within range display with normal badges.
   • Values outside range display with warning flags (High $\uparrow$ / Low $\downarrow$).
   • Panic / Critical values (e.g., Potassium $< 2.5$ or $> 6.5\, mmol/L$) trigger an urgent popup requiring immediate telephone notification to the attending clinician.

Multi-Tier Result Verification & Release#

1. First-Level Review: The conducting lab technologist reviews raw data and quality control (QC) runs.
2. Second-Level Validation: The senior laboratory pathologist or supervisor reviews abnormal findings and approves the release.
3. Upon validation, the electronic result transmits instantaneously to the patient's EMR record and patient portal.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • Healthcare: Generate daily MoH HMIS aggregate tally (smarterp_healthcare.ir_cron_hmis_sync): Runs daily at 23:00 to prepare DHIS2 health data summaries
  • Pharmacy: Flag expiring EFDA medicine batches (smarterp_healthcare.ir_cron_fefo_expiry): Runs daily at 06:00 to alert dispensers of lots expiring within 60 days
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • Official Patient Encounter Summary & Medical Certificate
  • Electronic Prescription Order Form (Model 19 Compliant)
  • Ethiopian Health Insurance Service (EHIS) Claim Dossier
  • Daily MoH Outpatient / Inpatient Morbidity Tally Sheet
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#