Naralabs will be presenting Bika Health in Med-e-Tel 2014

Med-e-Tel is an event of the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH), The international federation of national associations who represent their country's Telemedicine and eHealth stakeholders. Jordi Puiggené, from Bika partners Naralabs in Barcelona, will be presenting Bika Health, LIMS for health care, in the Open Source Village organised by the Collaborative Care Team in Open Source.

Bika Health, an Open Source Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for health care laboratories

Laboratory Management Systems (LIMS), especially in the health care discipline, are essential tools in any laboratory. Supporting the formalisation of laboratory workflow and analysis methodologies through SOPs, LIMS allows the implementation of Quality Assurance and Control (QA/QC) mechanisms to ensure consistency, accuracy, reproducibility and integrity of analysis results and procedures.

Two big problems with LIMS acquisition are high monetary cost due to license fees, and lack of access to the system source code, making it difficult to adapt it to the real local needs in the laboratory. In fact, it prevents small health centres and those which do not have sufficient financial resources from implementing LIMS. This can have a direct impact on the diagnosis and treatment of the patient.

The licensing model used in proprietary LIMS is a determining factor that hinders the deployment of such systems in many laboratories, with particular relevance on small laboratories with limited financial resources. This is particularly disturbing in health laboratories, where the deficit implies an added difficulty for compliance with laws and standards, and the establishment of quality policies.

Bika Health is an Open Source LIMS which aims to address these shortcomings, for the application of QA mechanisms to no longer be exclusive to larger centres.

Bika Health is an Open Source LIMS of high quality, designed specifically for health laboratories and cost saving in mind. Bika Health complies with regulations, standards and quality policies. Thanks to its Open Source model, the laboratory has full control of the system, being able to adapt to new needs independently.

Other presentations at Med-e-Tel

The services and applications presented include:

  • computer hard/software and peripherals
  • consulting services
  • diagnostic/monitoring systems and devices
  • electronic health cards
  • electronic medical records and personal health records
  • home and personal monitoring services and equipment
  • hospital information systems
  • imaging devices and systems
  • internet/intranet services
  • mobile/wireless devices and applications
  • satellite communication
  • secure data transmission
  • surgical systems
  • systems integration
  • telecommunication services and devices
  • telecare/telehealth/telemedicine equipment and assistive technologies
  • videoconferencing
  • vital signs monitoring

Education

The event also features many educational opportunities through its extensive program of presentations, panel discussions and satellite conferences on topics such as:

  • bio-informatics
  • broadband and wireless networks
  • business models
  • cost-benefit studies
  • current ehealth realizations and projects
  • developing countries and ehealth
  • distance education
  • ehealth integration into routine medical practice
  • electronic medical records
  • home monitoring and homecare applications
  • legal and ethical aspects
  • reimbursement issues
  • satellites and ehealth
  • standardization and interconnectivity
  • telemedicine applications and projects

The event is supported by a wide range of national and international associations, institutions and media who are equally involved in the research, development or funding of ehealth and telemedicine initiatives.

Further information