Unit 4 Assignment D
Storing and communica4ng informa4on in a laboratory.
Introduc4on:
Whilst working in a laboratory environment it is important for records to be kept up to date
for safety and protocol reasons, a way this may be done is by using large data sets to
securely store data on the ‘cloud’ hosted by alterna4ve soEware that is able to hold large
values of data at a single point in 4me. Laboratory firms may buy secure cloud space to
ensure their data is securely encrypted and is backed up in case of any system outages.
Chemical samples that go into the laboratory would have to be logged onto the system
which would end up on a large data set, and if the sample was to leave the laboratory for a
reason it would be logged with a reason. This would have to be in line with regula4ons such
as the Data Protec4on Act 1998.
How is useful informa4on obtained from large data sets?
Useful informa4on is obtained through large data sets by a soEware called LIMS (Laboratory
Informa4on Management System) which is commonly used within the laboratory. This
enables staff in the lab to track specific samples on the large data set to locate it and to find
out when it had arrived in the laboratory, for this to be made possible the sample would
have to be booked into the lab once it has arrived so that the sample can be controlled
accordingly. The system was developed to allow scien4sts to record and process large
amounts of clinical informa4on, the NHS would have their own soEware such as LIMS which
could be used na4onwide by various scien4sts that are tes4ng samples in the laboratory to
efficiently log results to relay back to doctors so that results of a test can be quickly drawn
out e.g., haematology tests. This is considered as a benefit of LIMS.
The risk of data leaks which are highly unlikely but are s4ll a risk faced towards large data
sets, this would be a poten4al issue as pa4ent confiden4ality would be breached and would
expose sensi4ve data of poten4ally hundreds of thousands of pa4ents. As most LIMS use
user IDs and passwords if this was to be accessed by people who have malicious intent it
could cause a data breach. Another poten4al issue/disadvantage of Laboratory Informa4on
Management System is the running expenses that come with the system, as a laboratory
firm would have to pay for yearly maintenance and poten4al unplanned costs which could
financially burden a small laboratory firm, for instance the NHS would not have to worry as
much with such costs due to the scale the NHS runs on, due to LIMS being a centralised
system where scien4fic informa4on can be obtained (such as urinalysis) and relayed back to
a doctor so that results can be quickly drawn out. A benefit of LIMS is that the amount of
physical space that is needed to store data is significantly reduced, this would also allow for
pa4ent confiden4ality to be upheld as sensi4ve pa4ent data is securely encrypted. This
would make it harder for people with malicious intent to access confiden4al pa4ent data.
How is scien4fic informa4on recorded and processed?
Storing and communica4ng informa4on in a laboratory.
Introduc4on:
Whilst working in a laboratory environment it is important for records to be kept up to date
for safety and protocol reasons, a way this may be done is by using large data sets to
securely store data on the ‘cloud’ hosted by alterna4ve soEware that is able to hold large
values of data at a single point in 4me. Laboratory firms may buy secure cloud space to
ensure their data is securely encrypted and is backed up in case of any system outages.
Chemical samples that go into the laboratory would have to be logged onto the system
which would end up on a large data set, and if the sample was to leave the laboratory for a
reason it would be logged with a reason. This would have to be in line with regula4ons such
as the Data Protec4on Act 1998.
How is useful informa4on obtained from large data sets?
Useful informa4on is obtained through large data sets by a soEware called LIMS (Laboratory
Informa4on Management System) which is commonly used within the laboratory. This
enables staff in the lab to track specific samples on the large data set to locate it and to find
out when it had arrived in the laboratory, for this to be made possible the sample would
have to be booked into the lab once it has arrived so that the sample can be controlled
accordingly. The system was developed to allow scien4sts to record and process large
amounts of clinical informa4on, the NHS would have their own soEware such as LIMS which
could be used na4onwide by various scien4sts that are tes4ng samples in the laboratory to
efficiently log results to relay back to doctors so that results of a test can be quickly drawn
out e.g., haematology tests. This is considered as a benefit of LIMS.
The risk of data leaks which are highly unlikely but are s4ll a risk faced towards large data
sets, this would be a poten4al issue as pa4ent confiden4ality would be breached and would
expose sensi4ve data of poten4ally hundreds of thousands of pa4ents. As most LIMS use
user IDs and passwords if this was to be accessed by people who have malicious intent it
could cause a data breach. Another poten4al issue/disadvantage of Laboratory Informa4on
Management System is the running expenses that come with the system, as a laboratory
firm would have to pay for yearly maintenance and poten4al unplanned costs which could
financially burden a small laboratory firm, for instance the NHS would not have to worry as
much with such costs due to the scale the NHS runs on, due to LIMS being a centralised
system where scien4fic informa4on can be obtained (such as urinalysis) and relayed back to
a doctor so that results can be quickly drawn out. A benefit of LIMS is that the amount of
physical space that is needed to store data is significantly reduced, this would also allow for
pa4ent confiden4ality to be upheld as sensi4ve pa4ent data is securely encrypted. This
would make it harder for people with malicious intent to access confiden4al pa4ent data.
How is scien4fic informa4on recorded and processed?
