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How to Turn Your Mid-Sized Medical Laboratory into a Thriving Large-Scale Operation
March 28, 2025
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It didn’t happen overnight, but thanks to your business acumen and a strong support team, your start-up anatomic pathology practice or reference laboratory has matured and blossomed into a successful business with a solid client base and an equally solid reputation.
Congratulations are in order, as this was no easy feat, especially considering that your lab had to successfully manage the challenges associated with a once-in-a-lifetime event like the COVID-19 pandemic.
You’re here today because of careful planning, timely decisions, and effective execution of those plans.
Going from start-up to established had its own set of challenges, so if the goal is to turn this mid-sized medical laboratory into a thriving large-scale operation, there will be new barriers and threats to overcome.
With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to help your laboratory facilitate the desired growth and expansion.
Avoid Paralysis by Laboratory Analysis
As a start-up with a much smaller staff, management decisions were likely made after gathering input from your colleagues. The engagement of all stakeholders affected by a planned change (while the process is happening) is a common and accepted practice in change management doctrine.
But what if this collective engagement fails to reach a consensus and instead creates decision-making paralysis? What then?
An interesting article in the Harvard Business Review (Leading a Midsize Business Through Change) touched on this topic, with author Ron Ashkenas suggesting that “the real issue is not whether to get a large number of people involved or not - but how to get them involved.”
Ashkenas, a Partner Emeritus at Schaffer Consulting and co-author of the Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook, argues its human nature to view change through a “will this be good or bad for me and my team” lens, and because of this, decision-making and concluding change becomes more difficult as more people get involved.
In his view, there’s a big difference between offering an opinion and being a decision-maker, and that’s where mid-sized companies can get lost. He believes decisions that affect the company’s direction should be made by a small team - namely the company’s CEO and trusted executives. Then, once a decision has been made, a larger group can work together to communicate and implement that decision.
Guiding Principles for Major Change
Ashkenas closed his article by providing two guiding principles for mid-sized companies that have a culture of engagement:
- Be clear about whether you’re engaging people to provide input or to make a decision.
- Have a dedicated leader who will be deeply engaged throughout the process.
Applying the Ashkenas Principles to the Medical Lab Industry
Now, let’s pivot back to the topic at hand, and that’s how to turn your successful mid-sized medical laboratory into a large-scale operation that dominates the marketplace.
With nearly two decades of experience in this space, we at LigoLab have often worked with labs like yours - successful small businesses on the verge of greatness - providing they make the right decisions going forward.
Based on our experiences and best practices, we recommend the Ashkenas approach to decision-making. Effectively communicate the plan to all stakeholders at every stage, but leave the mission-critical decisions up to a small and experienced leadership team.
We’ve Been There Before
As founders of LigoLab, Edward Kharatian and I can relate to your current situation. Before founding our laboratory information system (LIS software) company in 2006, we worked together at Healthline Clinical Laboratories.
Edward was the CIO, and I ran the lab’s IT department. We leveraged the pathology lab software technology available on the market to grow the business, and it eventually became the largest privately held lab in California.
Pathology software technology was a huge enabler, but as we grew, we realized these piecemeal solutions resulted in multiple lab vendors. As a business, we went from being innovative and cutting-edge to being in constant maintenance mode.
The lessons learned at Healthline helped us launch our LIS company with a shared vision of the advantages inherent in an integrated and unified pathology lab management system.
Stop Building a Laboratory Information System Monster
Over our many years of service, we’ve learned to recognize a few common trends that need to be addressed now if your lab is to modernize, grow efficiently, and achieve its goals.
Is your lab using multiple disparate laboratory software systems (LIS systems, electronic health records, laboratory billing systems, etc.) to complete clinical laboratory workflows? If so, how many software systems are in place currently? Do these systems work well together or create data silos? What happens if something goes wrong and multiple lab vendors refuse to take the blame for the issue at hand? Are you using paper or Excel to log QA/QC items?
We see prospective laboratory partners who’ve outgrown their original laboratory information systems (LIS software) and created a lab information system monster by piecing together multiple systems and workarounds to do the job.
The hard truth is that intrasystem interfaces are costly, complex to maintain, and often result in inconsistent data. We strongly recommend comprehensive all-in-one LIS lab software like LigoLab Informatics Platform, which unites all departments and roles and represents “one source of truth.”
The LigoLab platform is designed to streamline laboratory processes and enhance operational efficiency. Without a super-efficient LIS system platform, your lab won’t be able to break through growth barriers and quickly scale the business.
LigoLab’s LIS system software solution includes over a dozen embedded modules integral to a laboratory’s success, including an Integration Engine, Laboratory Outreach Solutions, Document Scanning, Sendout Management, Laboratory Customer Service Software, Business Intelligence, Rules and Automation, and more.
All these modules work in tandem to provide a holistic, all-in-one laboratory information system software solution tailored to meet the needs of multifaceted and modern anatomic pathology practices and clinical laboratories.
Learn More: Comparing LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information System Software
The Difference Between LIS Vendors and Laboratory Informatics Partners
Lastly, here is a word of caution as you and your leadership team start researching the attributes of laboratory information systems and LIS software vendors.
Legacy LIS systems are produced by laboratory information system companies that have large advertising budgets and put on flashy presentations. These pathology reporting software companies will first demand a sizable upfront capital investment for the LIS software license, then hit you with hidden fees for adding seats and modules as your business scales.
With this LIS medical model, the legacy LIS company gets paid upfront and is much less interested in hearing what you and your colleagues say about their pathology LIS systems and how they can be enhanced and improved to help your business grow.
The LigoLab approach is different. The cost of our LIS laboratory information system software license is directly aligned with your lab’s testing volume and long-term goals. Huge upfront capital is not required to use the LIS software, and LIS model pricing for the pathology software license is tiered to ensure a tailored fit and maximum value.
Learn More: LigoLab Informatics Platform: Uniquely Designed with Pricing Tiers to Deliver Maximum Value
This sets your lab business up for immediate success, as does the fact that your business won’t be penalized with hidden fees for growing. The LigoLab license includes the entire LIS software solution, with no hidden costs for adding modules and seats.
This partnership approach is also evident in research and development. We firmly believe in the power of innovation and in constantly enhancing our platform’s offerings, thus ensuring that our partner laboratories are equipped to handle current demands and future changes in an industry that continues to evolve.
At LigoLab, we understand this mission-critical decision and can offer you and your team the best LIS system playbook and partnership for long-term success.
To learn more, we invite you to look at how we support our lab partners from LIS system implementation to going live and beyond. Step one is clicking here and requesting a 15-minute discovery call with one of our talented laboratory information system product specialists.
