The COVID-19 pandemic is distorting our health systems and has led to a global health crisis. With the escalating number of COVID-19 cases across the globe, the focus has to be essentially on research and testing. COVID-19 diagnostic testing laboratories are receiving specimens at an unprecedented scale. Accurate and reliable testing of COVID-19 specimens is the need of the hour. COVID-19 testing laboratories are working on a war footing to scale up their testing capacity so as to meet the unprecedented testing demands. When every day is so unpredictable, it is necessary to understand the importance of implementing modern technologies & testing techniques to provide reliable results so that healthcare providers can rely on the laboratories. What is of paramount importance is the fact that how many of such laboratories can actually test high volumes of specimens.

Are the Laboratories Well-equipped for COVID-19 Research & Testing?

For the laboratories to be COVID-ready, it is required that they increase the testing capacity, rapidly report results, and minimize turnaround time. However, most of the laboratories today are well-equipped with only quality staff that leads to manual data entry which eventually limits the testing capacity. Here comes the critical role a LIMS can play. A LIMS can help labs automate their data entry process, making it more streamlined, and can integrate with analytical instruments and third-party software, thereby increasing the speed and accuracy in their workflows.

What is a LIMS?

With the labs receiving thousands of nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs, serum, blood specimens on a daily basis, they must be ready to manage the sudden rise in testing demands rather than relying on outdated systems.

LIMS for COVID-19 Testing Laboratories

It is quite possible that either the laboratories do not have a COVID-19 LIMS software or their existing LIMS might not be capable of managing COVID-19 research & testing data or reporting results as per FDA and CDC guidelines. What can be called as an efficient implementation plan, is that the COVID-19 LIMS software should be highly configurable and deployable that can help in securely managing specimens, patient data, and report accurate & reliable test results. For the laboratories to manage and streamline COVID-19 diagnostic testing workflows from specimen reception to reporting results, a coronavirus testing LIMS automates the data entry process, ensures quality control, and helps schedule instrument calibration, accelerating COVID-19 research & testing so that laboratories can handle the sudden spike in testing specimens.

If you are managing SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 specimens, you can sign up for FreeLIMS to manage data, streamline and automate your lab workflows.