THE FUTURE OF LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IS LOW- CODE

Grace Schroede
CEO at Slingr | Empowering Low-Code Innovation on Google Cloud Platform
@jsmith143
3min
June 2, 2021
3min

Blog Summary

Low-code development platforms, which have their roots in the 1970s, allow users to visually create mobile or web applications by dragging and dropping components instead of writing code line by line. This method significantly speeds up the software development process. In the healthcare sector, low-code is crucial for connecting fragmented systems and improving the patient experience. It allows for the rapid creation of custom solutions for laboratories, such as managing clinical data, automating processes, and generating reports. Low-code platforms are also key to modernizing Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), enabling them to support new business models like e-commerce and real-time data sharing through APIs.

Key Questions Answered by the Article

What is a low-code development platform, and how does it work?

A low-code development platform is a visual software environment where users can build applications by dragging and dropping components and connecting them, much like drafting a flowchart. This approach eliminates the need to write code line by line, making application development faster and more accessible.

What is the historical background of low-code platforms?

The term "low-code" was coined in 2014 by Forrester, but the concept can be traced back to the 1970s with the development of Fourth-Generation Programming Language (4GL). It was further advanced by tools like Computer-Assisted Software Engineering (CASE) and Rapid Application Development (RAD).

How is low-code uniquely positioned to benefit the healthcare industry?

Low-code platforms are uniquely positioned to benefit healthcare by stitching together the fragmented systems used by physicians, labs, and patients. They can be used to rapidly create custom applications that automate lab processes, manage clinical data, and facilitate secure, real-time data sharing, which is crucial for modern healthcare and logistics.

THE FUTURE OF LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IS LOW- CODE

The need for advancements in healthcare technology is critical. The global Coronavirus pandemic has exposed the need for convenience, connectedness, and secure real-time sharing of healthcare and logistics information

The term "Low code" was coined by Forrester in 2014 to classify development platforms that focused on development simplicity and ease of use. However, low-code development platforms can be traced back to the 70s when Fourth-Generation Programming Language (4GL) was developed. In 1982, James Martin, a technology visionary, wrote in his book: “The number of programmers available per computer is shrinking so fast that most computers in the future must be put to work at least in part without programmers,”

Next came a parade of Computer-Assisted Software Engineering (CASE) tools, Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools, Model-Driven Architecture (MDA), and Mobile Application Development platforms. The logical extension is the perfect API.

How Does Low-code Work?

Mary K. Pratt defined a low-code development platform as a type of visual software development environment that allows enterprise developers to drag and drop application components, connect them together and create mobile or web apps. In traditional software development, professional developers and programmers write code line by line to create the functions and features desired in a computer program or application. This, compared to low-code, is time-consuming. Low-code provides a quick and easy way to build applications without having to do this. Rather than writing line-by-line codes for each desired function and capability, users can create applications as if they were drafting a flowchart.

A Glance Into The General Benefit of Low-Code Development

With a low-code application development platform, front-end developers who have a clear knowledge of the goals at hand can complete the software development process with less support from professional developers.

The next generation of healthcare demands a tight relationship between physicians, labs,and technology. Given the fragmented nature of each, low-code application development platforms are uniquely positioned to stitch together the systems of the path with the demands of the patient experience of the future.

Low-code platforms conquer uncertainty

Low code can be used to customize the best fit for the particular laboratory, the processes being carried out. It is used to implement the tests, reports, and notifications that distinguish the level of service operations. Low-code enables:

• Capturing and management of critical clinical data.

• Automation of laboratory processes or digitize protocols.

• Management of sample specimen submission and receipt.

• Management of content, training and customer portals.

• Generation and display of results.

What’s next

Low code application development will overhaul custom code solutions that have hostile integration environments, inflexibility, and inability to extend to new business models.

LIMS that are powered by low-code platforms, can evolve lab practices to e-commerce, patient reporting, physician portals and APIs that can share data at the physician and regulatory requirements as needed.

Modern LIMS are built on low-code technologies.