The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a partner in these unified
initiatives, which are orchestrated by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), and under the Global AIDS Program (CDC GAP) helps resource-constrained countries prevent HIV infection; improve treatment, care, and support for people living with HIV; and build capacity and infrastructure to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
CDC GAP has program activities in 25 countries: the 15 Emergency Plan focus countries of Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia; and among the many other Emergency Plan countries ten additional countries, which are Angola, Brazil, Cambodia, China, D.R. Congo, India, Malawi, Senegal, Thailand and Zimbabwe.
Improving country infrastructure for laboratory services is an essential component of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and a major objective of CDC/GAP. Sustainable and flexible Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) are needed for the continuum of patient care, monitoring and evaluation, and planning to effectively reduce the global burden of HIV/AIDS and enable effective management of the complex challenges ahead. In order for prevention and treatment efforts to be effective, we must have reliable data for planning, resource allocation, and program operations. At the point of care for patients, we must be able to capture laboratory information that is essential for determining prevalence and incidence rates of infection and disease, for monitoring treatment efficacy and for identifying infected individuals who can be offered prevention and treatment services in addition to the core LIMS functions of laboratory management and quality assurance.
An electronic (computerized) LIMS, whether a basic standalone computer or a robust web-based networked system, is a necessity for management of the high volume of laboratory data generated in the effort to stem the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Paper-based systems are a barrier to assuring the quality of laboratory services and to succeeding in the effort to prevent HIV/AIDS. With appropriate planning and proper selection of hardware and software, computerized processing of information is feasible and desirable for every environment.
To assist HIV/AIDS programs in acquiring appropriate LIMS systems, we have developed a standard process to use for identifying reliable LIMS solutions for different country programs. This document is one component of a nested set of resources developed by the APHL to support the development of LIMS in resource-limited settings. Users of this document are encouraged to become familiar with the content of each of these references. We recommend that the users start with the Guidebook to familiarize themselves with the overall approach being described in this set of references.* Specifically, the set of references includes:
1. Guidebook for Implementation of Laboratory Information Systems (Guidebook)
describes strategic and implementation planning for LIMS, the overall LIMS development cycle,
and effective management of LIMS projects. This document provides laboratory
managers/project managers and laboratory supervisors a tool to aid effective planning and
oversight of an LIS Project.
2. High Level Requirements (HLR) document identifies information system standards for
objectively evaluating LIMS applications and is useful for selecting systems and providers. The
HLR describes in detail the functionalities of an LIMS, i.e., what the system should be able to
do and the currently accepted best practices for meeting industry standards.
3. LIS Toolkit is a detailed manual for technical staff and is a companion document to the HLR.
It is valuable to the individuals who will be involved in LIMS evaluation and in the selection of
LIMS providers and applications.
4. LIS Software Provider Report is a continually updated list of commercially and publicly
available laboratory software applications and providers that have been identified and meet
the HLR or meet basic requirements for Interim (RM) LIMS solutions. Providers and their
applications are placed in one or more of four groups to aid users in efficiently finding
appropriate providers:
• Fully capable network solutions
• Limited functionality solutions that meet core HLR
• Basic application solutions that have limited functionality and do not meet all core HLR
• Freeware (e.g., Epi Info) or software not designed specifically for LIMS (e.g., MS Access)
that can be programmed to meet LIMS functionality (and does not meet all core HLR).
APHL continues to search for appropriate applications for Emergency Plan LIMS needs. As LIMS applications are identified, they are added to the provider list. APHL updates this list every several months to add and remove names of providers or software applications. This list provides an efficient means to locate providers that have applications that should not require significant modifications to meet the users’ needs. Users of this document may know of other appropriate providers. If so, contact information for other providers may be sent to APHL in care of Patina Zarcone, Director, Informatics and Institutional Research, at patina.zarcone@aphl.org.
*Note: The acronyms LIS and LIMS are used interchangeably and refer to the same systems. APHL has decided to use the term LIMS consistently instead of LIS, however the term LIS may appear in relevant documents which were written prior to the standardization decision, such as the PEPfAR documents linked to above.