3. Additional resources for selecting and implementing informatics solutions - Part 3: Industry and community resources

3.6 Trade organizations

Trade organizations and associations help bring people in similar industries or with similar goals together to learn and share ideas, improve their industry, and gain insights into the newest technologies and procedures. The following represent organizations, associations, and other groups dedicated to not only medical fields but also the application of technology and informatics in medicine.

Digital Health Canada (DHC)

Kenya Health Informatics Association (KeHIA)

Laboratory Research & Innovation Group (LRIG)

Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII)

Vancouver Bioinformatics Users Group (VanBUG)

Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC)

3.7 Conferences and trade shows

Conferences

Conference	Country	City (State)	Month / Day(s)	Year	Organizer	Details
ACM-BCB 2020	United States	Atlanta (Georgia)	09 / Unknown	2020	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)	An annual conference on bioinformatics, computational biology, and health informatics
ACM SIGCOMM 2020	United States	New York City (New York)	08 / 10–14	2020	Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM's) Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM)	An annual international meeting of the ACM SIGCOMM on the topic of computer and data communication networks and their "architecture, design, implementation, operations, analysis, measurement, and simulation" (alternate URL)
AIME 2021	Unknown	Unknown	06 / Unknown	2021	European Society for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIME)	A biennial international conference on AI techniques in medical research and care for AIME
AMIA 2020 Annual Symposium	United States	Chicago (Illinois)	11 / 14–18	2020	American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)	An annual biomedical and informatics symposium for the AMIA
AMIA Informatics Summit 2021	Unknown	Unknown	03 / Unknown	2021	American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)	Annual summit on bioinformatics, translational research, and other aspects of data science
ANIA 2020 Conference	United States	Chicago (Illinois)	08 / 20–22	2020	American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA)	An annual informatics conference for the ANIA
APHL 2021	United States	Cleveland (Ohio)	05 / 17–20	2021	Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)	An annual public health conference for the APHL
ASCLD 2021 Symposium	United States	Boston (Massachusetts)	04 / 11–15	2021	American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD)	An annual symposium concerning "the day-to-day operation of a crime laboratory" for the ASCLD
ASIS&T 2020 Annual Meeting	United States	Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)	10 / 23–28	2020	Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T)	An annual information science and technology conference for the ASIS&T
Bio-IT World Conference and Expo 2020	United States	Boston (Massachusetts)	10 / 06–08	2020	Cambridge Healthtech Institute	An annual medical and biomedical informatics conference and exhibition
BIOSTEC 2021	Austria	Vienna	02 / 11–13	2021	Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication	An annual multi-conference on "theoretical advances and applications of information systems, artificial intelligence, signal processing, electronics and other engineering tools in knowledge areas related to biology and medicine"
BIOTECHNO 2020	Portugal	Lisbon	09 / 27 – 10/ 01	2020	International Academy, Research and Industry Association (IARIA)	An international conference on bioinformatics, biocomputational systems, and biotechnologies
C3DIS 2021	Unknown	Unknown	03 / Unknown	2021	Conference Design Pty. Ltd.	An Australasian conference on "the production of breakthrough science outcomes that require large scale, complex computations and analyses to be carried out over massive data sets"
Computing in Cardiology	Italy	Rimini	09 / 13–16	2020	Computers in Cardiology, Inc.	An international conference on computing in clinical cardiology and cardiovascular physiology
Context Sensitive Health Informatics (CSHI) 2021	Unknown	Unknown	08 / Unknown	2021	European Federation for Medical Informatics	A biennial international conference on health information technologies and their environments
Digital Health & Care Scotland 2021	Scotland	Edinburgh	02 / 24–25	2021	Holyrood Connect	An annual national conference for sharing digital health successes and lessons learned
e-Health 2021 (Toronto)	Canada	Toronto (Ontario)	05 / 30 – 06 / 02	2021	Canada Health Infoway (CHI); Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI); COACH: Canada's Health Informatics Association	A national conference on eHealth and medical informatics
EAI Healthware 2020	Italy	Lecco	Unknown	2020	European Alliance for Innovation (EAI)	A triennial international conference of the "key issues, opportunities and obstacles for personal health data research"
EMBC’20	Canada	Montréal (Québec)	07 / 20–24	2020	The IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE EMBC)	An annual international conference of the IEEE EMBC
EMBnet AGM 2020	Unknown	Unknown	10 / Unknown	2020	EMBnet, The Global Bioinformatics Network	An annual conference on bioinformatics for EMBnet
EuroIA 2020	Germany	Berlin	09 / 24–26	2020	EuroIA Organizing Committee	An annual European conference on information architecture and informatics
EXPO.health 2020	United States	Las Vegas (Nevada)	09 / 29 – 10 / 01	2020	Healthcare Scene	An annual conference "focused on improving healthcare through technology collaboration"
FOIS 2020	Italy	Bozen-Bolzano	09 / 14–17	2020	The International Association for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA)	A biennial conference on formal ontology and information systems
Future Laboratory Informatics Forum	Germany	Frankfurt (Hesse)	09 / 15–17	2020	IQPC	An annual European conference on laboratory informatics
Genome Informatics 2020	Unknown	Unknown	09 / 14–17	2020	TBC Organizing Committee	An annual conference on translational bioinformatics, genomics, etc.
Health Data Analytics 2020	Australia	Unknown	10 / Unknown	2020	Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA)	A conference on "big data" in biomedicine and healthcare
Health Datapalooza 2021	Unknown	Unknown	02 / Unknown	2021	AcademyHealth	A conference on "creating knowledge from data and pioneering innovations that drive health policy and practice"
HEALTHINF 2021	Austria	Vienna	02 / 11–13	2021	Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication (INSTICC)	An annual international conference on health informatics
HIC 2020	Australia	Brisbane (Queensland)	10 / 19–21	2020	Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH)	An annual national e-health and health informatics conference
HIMAA 2020	Australia	Melbourne (Victoria)	10 / 28–30	2020	The Health Information Management Association Australia (HIMAA)	An annual health informatics conference for HIMAA
HIMSS 2021	Unknown	Unknown	03 / Unknown	2021	The Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS)	An annual health informatics conference for HIMSS
HIMSS Europe 2020	Finland	Helsinki	09 / 07–09	2020	Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) Europe	An annual international conference of HIMSS Europe
HINZ 2020	New Zealand	Claudelands	11 / 23–27	2020	Health Informatics New Zealand (HINZ)	An annual health informatics conference for HINZ
HIS 2020	The Netherlands	Amsterdam	10 / Unknown	2020	HIS (Health Information Science) Organizing Committee	An annual international conference on health informatics
HPCS 2020	Spain	Barcelona	10 / 26–30	2020	HPCS Organizing Committee	An annual international conference on high-performance and large-scale computing systems
ICIMTH 2020	Greece	Athens	07 / 03–05	2020	ICIMTH Organizing Committee	An annual international conference on biomedical, clinical, and other types of informatics
ICSITech 2020	Indonesia	Palu	10 / 21–22	2020	ICSITech Organizing Committee	An annual international conference on all aspects of knowledge management
ICKM 2020	United States	Durham (North Carolina)	12 / 03–05	2020	ICKM Organizing Committee	An annual international conference on on scientific developments in information technology and knowledge management
IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics 2020	Germany	Oldenburg	11 / 30 – 12 / 03	2020	IEEE	An annual international conference on scientific developments in clinical information technology
IFHIMA Congress 2022	Australia	Brisbane (Queensland)	11 / Unknown	2022	The International Federation of Health Information Management Associations (IFHIMA) and the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA)	A triennial international health information management congress for IFHIMA
Inform 2021 Waters Informatics Users Conference	Unknown	Unknown	05 / Unknown	2021	Waters Corporation	An annual user conference of Waters' informatics products
INFORMATIK 2020	Germany	Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg)	09 / 29 – 10 / 01	2020	Gesellschaft für Informatik	An annual national conference on informatics
Information Architecture Conference 2021	Unknown	Unknown	04 / Unknown	2021	IA Institute	An annual information architecture and informatics summit
International Conference on Algorithms for Computational Biology (AICoB)	Unknown	Unknown	04 / Unknown	2021	Institute for Research Development, Training and Advice	An annual international conference on "research using string and graph algorithms and combinatorial optimization to deal with problems in biological sequence analysis, genome rearrangement, phylogeny reconstruction, and structure prediction"
International Conference on Biostatistics and Bioinformatics	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	09 / 25–26	2020	OMICS Group	An annual international conference on biostatistics and bioinformatics
International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics 2020 (ICBHI)	Turkey	Istanbul	07 / 30–31	2020	International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering and others	An international conference on biomedical and health informatics
International Conference on Brain Informatics 2020	Italy	Padova	09 / 18–20	2020	Web Intelligence Consortium	An international conference on the interconnections of "cognitive science, neuroscience, machine learning, data science, artificial intelligence, and information and communication technology to explore the main problems that lie in the interplay between human brain studies and informatics research"
International Conference on Digital Information Management (ICDIM)	Unknown	Unknown	09 / Unknown	2020	ICDIM Organizing Committee	An annual international conference on digital information management, science, and technology
International Conference on Health and Medical Informatics Systems 2021	Unknown	Unknown	01 / Unknown	2021	World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology	An annual international conference on health informatics
International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO) 2020	France	Paris	07 / 07–09	2020	Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication	An annual international conference on the "application of informatics to control, automation, and robotics"
International Conference on Medical Informatics & Telemedicine	Switzerland	Zurich	07 / 27–28	2020	OMICS Group	An annual international conference on medical informatics and its applications to telemedicine
International Conference on Proteomics, Genomics and Bioinformatics	ONLINE	Japan	05 / 18–19	2020	OMICS Group	An annual international conference on proteomics and bioinformatics
ISBER 2021	Unknown	Unknown	04 / Unknown	2021	International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER)	An annual international conference for ISBER
ISC'20	Germany	Frankfurt (Hesse)	06 / 22–24	2020	Prometeus	An annual international conference on high-performance computing
ISCB 2020	Poland	Kraków	08 / 23–27	2020	International Society for Clinical Biostatistics (ISCB)	An annual international conference for the ISCB
ISCB Africa ASBCB 2021	Unknown	Unknown	11 / Unknown	2021	International Society for Computational Biology and the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology	A biennial national meeting on bioinformatics
ISMB 2020	Canada	Montréal (Québec)	07 / 13–16	2020	International Society for Computational Biology	An annual international bioinformatics and computational biology conference
ITCH 2021	Canada	Victoria (British Columbia)	02 / Unknown	2021	University of Victoria	A biennial national conference on information and communication technologies' impact on healthcare
LabWare 2020 Africa Customer Education Conference	South Africa	George	09 / 15–18	2020	LabWare, Inc.	An annual LabWare customer education conference for the Africa region
LabWare 2020 Asia Pacific Customer Education Conference	Australia	Gold Coast (Queensland)	08 / 18–19	2020	LabWare, Inc.	An annual LabWare customer education conference for the Asia Pacific region
LabWare 2021 China Customer Education Conference	China	Unknown	09 / Unknown	2021	LabWare, Inc.	An annual LabWare customer education conference for the China region
LabWare 2021 European Customer Education Conference	Unknown	Unknown	06 / Unknown	2021	LabWare, Inc.	An annual LabWare customer education conference for the European region
LabWare 2020 Latin American Customer Education Conference	Brazil	Rio de Janeiro	10 / 05–09	2020	LabWare, Inc.	An annual LabWare customer education conference for the Latin American region
LabWare 2021 North American Customer Education Conference	Unknown	Unknown	04 / Unknown	2021	LabWare, Inc.	An annual LabWare customer education conference for the North American region
LIMS-Forum 2020	Germany	Jülich (North Rhine-Westphalia)	11 / 10–11	2020	International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC)	An annual forum on laboratory informatics
MedInfo 2021	Australia	Sydney (New South Wales)	08 / 21–25	2021	International Medical Informatics Association	A biennial international congress on medical and health informatics
MedTech Conference, The	Canada	Toronto (Ontario)	10 / 05–07	2020	AdvaMed	An annual conference on medical informatics and technology
MIE 2021	Unknown	Unknown	04 / Unknown	2021	European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI)	An annual European conference on medical informatics
NAHDO Annual Conference	United States	Boston (Massachusetts)	08 / 17–19	2020	National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO)	An annual health informatics conference for NAHDO
NextGen Omics Series UK	England	London	11 / 05–06	2020	Oxford Global Conferences	An annual European congress on NGS technologies, data analysis, and clinical applications
Paperless Lab Academy 2021	Italy	Baveno	04 / 27–28	2021	Industrial Lab Automation	An annual conference on the paperless laboratory
Pathology Informatics 2021	Unknown	Unknown	05 / Unknown	2021	University of Pittsburgh and the Association for Pathology Informatics (API)	An annual educational conference on pathology informatics
PharmaTec Series	England	London	09 / 24–25	2020	Oxford Global Conferences	An annual European congress on the role of technology on the pharmaceutical sector
Physician-Computer Connection Annual Symposium	United States	Ojai (California)	08 / 04–07	2020	Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems	An annual national symposium on physician use of healthcare information systems and technology
Pittcon	United States	New Orleans (Louisiana)	03 / 06–10	2021	The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy	An annual international conference and expo on laboratory science
RDAP21	Unknown	Unknown	03 / Unknown	2021	Research Data Access & Preservation Association	An annual research data access and preservation summit
Rocky Mountain Bioinformatics Annual Conference	United States	Snowmass Village (Colorado)	12 / Unknown	2020	International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB)	An annual conference for the ISCB
SC20	United States	Atlanta (Georgia)	11 / 15–20	2020	HPC Interconnections	An annual international supercomputing conference
SIGKDD 2020	United States	San Diego (California)	08 / 22–27	2020	KDD 2020 Organizing Committee	An annual conference on data mining and big data
SIIM 2020 Annual Meeting	United States	Austin (Texas)	06 / 24–26	2020	Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine	An annual conference on imaging informatics and technology
SLAS2021	United States	San Diego (California)	01 / 23–27	2021	Society for Laboratory Automation & Screening (SLAS)	An annual conference and exhibition about laboratory automation for SLAS
SmartLab Exchange Europe	Germany	Berlin	02 / 15–16	2021	IQPC Exchange and the International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC)	A European conference on informatics in R&D and manufacturing
Software Design for Medical Devices Global Annual Summit	Germany	Berlin	02 / Unknown	2021	International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC)	An annual conference on software for medical device manufacturers
State Healthcare IT Connect Summit 2021	United States	Unknown	Unknown	2021	National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)	An annual summit for those managing state health IT systems
Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI) 2021	United States	Baltimore (Maryland)	07 / Unknown	2021	University of Maryland School of Nursing	An annual national nursing informatics conference
TECHNA 2020	Canada	Toronto (Ontario)	10 / Unknown	2020	Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health (TECHNA)	An annual conference on applications of information technology and automation to healthcare

Trade shows

Trade show	Country	City (State)	Month / Day(s)	Year	Organizer	Details
Analitica Latin America	Brazil	São Paulo	09 / 28–30	2021	NürnbergMesse Brasil	A biennial international exhibition for laboratory technology, analyses, biotechnology, and quality control
analytica	Germany	Munich (Bavaria)	10 / 19–22	2020	Messe München	A biennial international trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis, and biotechnology
Analiza	Israel	Tel-Aviv	03 / Unknown	2021	STIER	A biennial international trade fair for laboratory technology, equipment, and instrumentation
analytica Anacon India - Hyderabad	India	Hyderabad (Telangana)	09 / 17–19	2020	Messe München	A biannual international trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis, and biotechnology
analytica Anacon India - Mumbai	India	Mumbai (Maharashtra)	08 / 19–20	2020	Messe München	An annual international trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis, and biotechnology
analytica China	China	Shanghai	11 / 16–18	2020	Messe München	A biennial international trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis, and biotechnology
analytica Vietnam	Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City	04 / 14–16	2021	Messe München	A biennial international trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis, and biotechnology
ARABLAB 2020	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	09 / 07–09	2020	The ARABLAB Group, Scientific International Exhibitions Ltd.	An annual international laboratory and instrumentation tech trade fair
Belarus Medica 2021	Belarus	Minsk	03 / Unknown	2021	Technics And Communications Jsc	A medical exhibition featuring all major branches of medicine
CISILE 2020	China	Beijing	12 / 07–09	2020	China Instrument Manufacturers Association	An annual international scientific instrument and laboratory equipment exhibition
Clinical Lab Expo 2020	United States	Chicago (Illinois)	12 / 13–17	2020	AACC	An annual exhibition of clinical laboratory products and services
DMEA 2021	Germany	Berlin (Berlin)	04 / 13–15	2021	Messe Berlin	An annual European exhibition on healthcare IT (formerly Connecting Healthcare IT)
Expomed Eurasia 2020	Turkey	Istanbul	11 / 05–07	2020	Reed Tüyap Exhibitions Inc.	An annual international trade fair for the healthcare industry (formerly LabtechMED Eurasia)
Forensics Europe Expo 2020	England	London	09 / 08–10	2020	Clarion Defence and Security Limited	An annual trade fair and conference for anything related to forensic science
Forum LABO Lyon 2020	France	Lyon	10 / 07–08	2020	Comité Interprofessionnel des Fournisseurs du Laboratoire (CIFL)	A biennial European exhibition focused on laboratory professionals from multiple sectors
Forum LABO Paris 2021	France	Paris	03 / Unknown	2021	Comité Interprofessionnel des Fournisseurs du Laboratoire (CIFL)	A biennial European exhibition focused on laboratory professionals from multiple sectors
Hospital Expo - Indonesia 2020	Indonesia	Jakarta	10 / 21–24	2020	PT. Okta Sejahtera Insani	An annual international exhibition on hospital, medical, clinical, and pharmaceutical equipment and technologies
Hospital Expo - Medan 2021	Indonesia	Medan	02 / Unknown	2021	PT. Okta Sejahtera Insani	An annual international exhibition on hospital, medical, clinical, and pharmaceutical equipment and technologies
Hospital Expo - Surabaya 2021	Indonesia	Surabaya	04 / Unknown	2021	PT. Okta Sejahtera Insani	An annual international exhibition on hospital, medical, clinical, and pharmaceutical equipment and technologies
ILMAC 2021	Switzerland	Basel	09 / 21–23	2021	MCH Group AG	A biennial trade fair for process and laboratory technology
ILMAC Luasanne 2020	Switzerland	Luasanne	10 / 07–08	2020	MCH Group AG	A biennial trade fair for process and laboratory technology
India Lab Expo 2020 - Hyderabad	India	Hyderabad (Telangana)	09 / 17–19	2020	Messe München	An annual trade show on laboratory and bioinformatics
India Lab Expo 2020 - Mumbai	India	Mumbai (Maharashtra)	08 / 19–20	2020	Messe München	An annual trade show on laboratory and bioinformatics
Infosecurity Europe 2020	England	London	06 / 02–04	2020	Reed Exhibitions Limited	An annual European information security exhibition
Interlab Africa 2020	Algeria	Alger	12 / 05–07	2020	ATEX International Exhibitions	An annual African exhibition for laboratory technology
INTERPHEX 2021	United States	New York City (New York)	04 / 20–22	2021	Reed Exhibitions	An annual pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical trade show
JASIS 2020	Japan	Chiba	11 / 11–13	2020	Japan Analytical Instruments Manufacturers' Association	An annual national trade show on analytical and scientific systems and solutions
Korea Lab 2020	South Korea	Seoul	07 / 27–30	2020	Kyungyon Exhibition Corp.	An annual national trade show on laboratory and biotechnology
LabComplEX 2020	Ukraine	Kiev	09 / 23–25	2020	ExpoForum, LLC	An annual national trade show on laboratory and biotechnology
Lab Expo - Cambodia	Cambodia	Phnom Penh	08 / 20–22	2020	Minh Vi Exhibition & Advertisement Services Co., Ltd.	An annual national trade show on laboratory and biotechnology
Lab Expo - Myanmar	Myanmar	Yangon	09 / 24–26	2020	Minh Vi Exhibition & Advertisement Services Co., Ltd.	An annual national trade show on laboratory and biotechnology
Lab Indonesia 2020	Indonesia	Jakarta	11 / 25–27	2020	Informa PLC	An annual national trade fair for the laboratory sector
Lab Innovations 2020	United Kingdom	Birmingham	11 / 04–05	2020	EasyFairs UK Ltd.	An annual European trade fair for the laboratory sector
LAB-SUPPLY 2020 Regional Fair - Berlin	Germany	Berlin (Berlin)	06 / 16	2020	Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG	An annual regional trade fair for instrumental analytics, laboratory technology, laboratory chemicals, and biotechnology
LAB-SUPPLY 2020 Regional Fair - Dresden	Germany	Dresden (Saxony)	09 / 02	2020	Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG	An annual regional trade fair for instrumental analytics, laboratory technology, laboratory chemicals, and biotechnology
LAB-SUPPLY 2020 Regional Fair - Hamburg	Germany	Hamburg (Hamburg)	10 / 28	2020	Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG	An annual regional trade fair for instrumental analytics, laboratory technology, laboratory chemicals, and biotechnology
LAB-SUPPLY 2020 Regional Fair - Main in Frankfurt	Germany	Frankfurt (Hesse)	08 / 26	2020	Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG	An annual regional trade fair for instrumental analytics, laboratory technology, laboratory chemicals, and biotechnology
LAB-SUPPLY 2020 Regional Fair - Münster	Germany	Münster (North Rhine-Westphalia)	09 / 30	2020	Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG	An annual regional trade fair for instrumental analytics, laboratory technology, laboratory chemicals, and biotechnology
LAB-SUPPLY 2020 Regional Fair - Rhein in Leverkusen	Germany	Leverkusen (North Rhine-Westphalia)	11 / 24	2020	Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG	An annual regional trade fair for instrumental analytics, laboratory technology, laboratory chemicals, and biotechnology
LAB-SUPPLY 2019 Regional Fair - Wien	Austria	Vienna	09 / 08	2020	Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG	An annual regional trade fair for instrumental analytics, laboratory technology, laboratory chemicals, and biotechnology
LabAsia 2021	Malaysia	Kuala Lampur	10 / 19–21	2021	Informa PLC	An annual regional trade fair and conference for the laboratory sector
Laborama 2020	Belgium	Bruxelles	06 / 11–12	2020	Laborama vzw-asbl	An annual European trade fair for the laboratory sector
LABVOLUTION 2021	Germany	Hannover (Lower Saxony)	05 / 04–06	2021	Deutsche Messe	A biennial international trade fair for the biotechnology, life sciences, and laboratory tech communities
MEDIDENT 2020	Serbia	Belgrade	10 / 15–17	2020	Belgrade Fair	An annual international exhibition of medical, laboratory, pharmaceutical, dental, and veterinary equipment, instruments, and services
MEDLAB Asia Pacific 2020	Thailand	Bangkok	10 / 28–30	2020	Informa Life Sciences Exhibitions	An annual international laboratory exhibition and congress
Philippines Lab Expo 2020	Philippines	Manila	08 / 12–14	2020	Fireworks Exhibitions and Conferences	An annual national laboratory exhibition
Rommedica 2021	Romania	Bucharest	05 / Unknown	2021	ROMEXPO	An annual international trade fair for medical instruments and equipment
Sri Lanka Lab Expo 2021	Sri Lanka	Colombo	02 / Unknown	2021	S D Promo Media Pvt. Ltd.	An annual national trade fair for laboratory and biotechnology
Thailand Lab International 2020	Thailand	Bangkok	09 / 16–18	2020	VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific Co., Ltd.	An annual international trade fair for analytical laboratory equipment & technology, biotechnology & life sciences, and chemicals & safety
Tbilisi Health Forum 2020	Georgia	Tbilisi	11 / Unknown	2020	ExpoGeorgia Co	An annual international trade fair for medical technology, laboratory equipment, dentistry, pharmaceuticals, optics, and hospital equipment (formerly Caucasus Healthcare)
World of Technology & Science 2020	The Netherlands	Utrecht	09 / 29 – 10 / 02	2020	FHI Federation of Technology Branches	A biennial international trade fair for industrial electronics, industrial automation, and laboratory technology

3.8 User communities

The following user communities (in the form of forums, discussion boards, email discussion lists, etc.) are known to provide a space for medical diagnostic and research personnel to discuss their work:

Reddit-based communities

3.9 Books and journals

Books

Hundred of books concerning medical- and research-based laboratory science—as well as laboratory informatics—have been published over the past several decades. As such, it's difficult to make specific recommendations, at least without context. However, professional organizations are quite proficient in making such recommendations through their reading libraries and accreditation programs. For example, the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science maintains a three-page list of reference textbooks that are useful for their Medical Laboratory Technologist examination. The American Society for Clinical Pathology has its own publication division, with more than 60 in-house books published on various elements of pathology and laboratory science. The American Association for Clinical Chemistry has a similar library, as does the American Public Health Association, the American Society for Microbiology, and the American College of Physicians.

For medical informatics books, you could turn to the community recommendations made over at the Health Informatics Forum. The Amazon-associated BookAuthority has a section for medical informatics, though it's not clear how rigorous their ratings system is. Universities such as the University of Illinois-Chicago also may offer book recommendations.

Journals


Journal	Journal description
ACIMED	a Spanish language journal of medical informatics published by the National Center of Information on Medical Sciences in Cuba
ACM Transactions on Database Systems	a database management journal released by the Association for Computing Machinery
Advanced Engineering Informatics	an Elsevier journal on advanced computing methods and "knowledge-intensive tasks in engineering"
Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science	a journal covering research in clinical science released by the Association of Clinical Scientists
Applied Clinical Informatics	a biomedical and health informatics journal produced by the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) and the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS)
Applied Medical Informatics	a medical informatics journal overseen by the Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics at Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine	an Elsevier journal covering "interdisciplinary perspectives concerning the theory and practice of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, human biology, and health care"
Biodiversity Informatics	a University of Kansas Libraries-hosted electronic journal that "focuses on the emerging field of biodiversity informatics"
Bioinformatics	an Oxford Journals release that focuses "on new developments in genome bioinformatics and computational biology"
Biomedical Signal Processing and Control	an Elsevier journal covering "research in the measurement and analysis of signals and images in clinical medicine and the biological sciences"
BMC Bioinformatics	an open-access journal focusing on "the development, testing and novel application of computational and statistical methods for the modeling and analysis of all kinds of biological data"
BMC Medical Informatics & Decision Making	an open-access journal focusing on "the design, development, implementation, use, and evaluation of health information technologies and decision-making within the healthcare setting"
Briefings in Bioinformatics	an Oxford Journals release that covers "databases and analytical tools of contemporary genetics, molecular and systems biology"
Cancer Informatics	an open-access journal focusing on "bioinformatic analysis of molecular genetic and/or clinical data pertaining to human cancer risk, prevention, outcome or treatment response"
Chinese Journal of Health Informatics and Management	a Chinese journal reporting on trends in health informatics and the management of related systems
Clinical Informatics and Telemedicine	the official journal of the Ukrainian Association for Computer Medicine, this publication focuses on "the newest technologies in clinical informatics"
Clinics in Laboratory Medicine	an Elsevier publication, each issue focusing on a pathology topic as it relates to laboratory management and technologies (alternate URL)
Computational Statistics & Data Analysis	the Elsevier-published official journal of the International Association of Statistical Computing (IASC) "dedicated to the dissemination of methodological research and applications in the areas of computational statistics and data analysis"
Computer Communication Review	the official publication of the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM's) Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM); a publication containing both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed content concerning the topic of computer communication
Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine	an Elsevier journal covering "computing methodology and software systems derived from computing science for implementation in all aspects of biomedical research and medical practice"
Computers & Geosciences	an Elsevier journal covering the use of "modern computer science paradigms, whether computational or informatics-based, to address problems in the geosciences"
Computers in Biology and Medicine	an Elsevier journal focused on the "advances being made in the application of the computer to the fields of bioscience and medicine"
Computers Informatics Nursing	a monthly online / bimonthly print journal covering "the latest developments in nursing informatics, research, and educational technology"
Computing and Informatics	a bimonthly journal on computer architectures, distributed computing, software engineering, and information management
Current Bioinformatics	a Betham Science journal which "focuses on reviews on advances in computational molecular/structural biology"
Current Protocols in Bioinformatics	a trimonthly Wiley publication "designed for research biologists" concerning the how-to of "hundreds of applications and databases from research groups around the globe"
Data and Knowledge Engineering	an Elsevier journal focused on the "the underlying principles in the design and effective use" database and knowledgebase systems
Earth Science Informatics	a Springer journal focused on "geoinformatics, computational Earth science, and all aspects of computer applications dealing with the earth systems science (ESS) and planetary and space science"
Egyptian Informatics Journal	an Elsevier journal from the Faculty of Computers and Information, Cairo University which acts as a "forum for the state-of-the-art research and development in the fields of computing, including computer sciences, information technologies, information systems, operations research and decision support"
EMBnet.journal	an international open-access journal for biomedical scientists covering data analysis, IT architecture, and data-driven research
EURASIP Journal on Bioinformatics and Systems Biology	a SpringerOpen journal (sponsored by the European Association for Signal Processing [EURASIP]) covering "signal processing and bioinformatics theories and techniques relevant to a wide area of applications into the core new disciplines of genomics, proteomics, and systems biology"
EURASIP Journal on Information Security	a SpringerOpen journal (sponsored by the European Association for Signal Processing [EURASIP]) covering "information security, with a particular emphasis on the use of signal processing tools in adversarial environments"
European Journal for Biomedical Informatics	the official multi-lingual journal of the European Federation of Medical Informatics (EFMI), targeted at "biomedical researchers, physicians, other health personnel and citizens"
Evolutionary Bioinformatics	an international open-access journal covering evolutionary bioinformatics
Foundations and Trends in Information Retrieval	a now publishers online journal that covers numerous aspect of information retrieval, from architecture and applications to theory and usability
Fundamenta Informaticae	an IOS Press journal covering "all areas of mathematical foundations of computer science and their applications"
GeoInformatica	a Springer journal focused on "disseminating original and fundamental research and experience in the expanding uses of computer science for spatial studies"
Health Affairs	a journal on "health policy thought and research," sponsored by Project HOPE, a non-profit international health education organization
Health Care and Informatics Review Online	the official journal of the not-for-profit Health Informatics New Zealand (HINZ), "dedicated to reviewing and interpreting significant developments in healthcare delivery with a particular focus on health informatics"
Health Informatics Journal	a SAGE journal which covers "the fields of informatics and telematics, the health professions, computer science, engineering and management"
Health Information & Libraries Journal	the Wiley-published official journal of the Health Libraries Group of the U.K. Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, dedicated to health library and information workers
Health Information Management Interchange	the official research journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA), covering healthcare informatics
Health Information Science and Systems	a multidisciplinary open-access journal "that aims to integrate computer science/information technology with health science and services"
Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences	the SpringerOpen journal for the Future Technology Research Association International (FTRA), covering "various theories and practical applications related to human-centric computing and information sciences"
IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine	an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) publication on "information technology applications in health, healthcare and biomedicine"
IEEE Transactions on Information Theory	an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) publication on "the transmission, processing, and utilization of information"
Informatica	a quarterly IO Press journal "on mathematical simulation and optimization, recognition and control, programming theory and systems, automation systems and elements"
Informatics for Health and Social Care	a quarterly journal dedicated "to show how informatics contributes to the better delivery of care through the presentation of high-quality [research or practice] material"
Information and Management	an Elsevier journal which "serves managers, professionals, database administrators and senior executives of organizations which design, implement and manage information systems applications"
Information and Organization	an Elsevier journal focused on "the relationships between information technologies and social organization"
Information and Software Technology	an Elsevier journal dedicated to "focusing on research and experience that contributes to the improvement of software development practices"
Information Knowledge Systems Management	an IO Press journal focused on the "understanding and enhancing use of information management, knowledge management, and systems management for organizational and enterprise improvement"
Information Sciences	an Elsevier journal focused on "research activities in information, knowledge engineering and intelligent systems"
Information Services & Use	an IOS Press journal that "aims at leaders in information management and applications in an attempt to keep them fully informed of fast-moving developments in fields such as: online systems, offline systems, electronic publishing, library automation, education and training, word processing and telecommunications"
Information Systems	an Elsevier journal publishing information "concerning the design and implementation of languages, data models, process models, algorithms, software and hardware for information systems"
Information Systems Journal	a Wiley journal "promoting the study of, and interest in, information systems"
Intelligent Data Analysis	an IOS Press journal that covers "research and applications of artificial intelligence techniques in data analysis across a variety of disciplines"
International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications	an Inderscience journal focused "on basic bioinformatics research methods, tool development, performance evaluation and their applications in biology"
International Journal of Data Mining & Knowledge Management Process	a journal of non-profit Academy & Industry Research Collaboration Center (AIRCC) that focuses on "computational theories and tools to assist researchers in extracting useful information from the rapidly growing volumes of digital data"
International Journal of Electronic Healthcare	an Inderscience journal "which presents current practice and research in the area of e-healthcare"
International Journal of Functional Informatics and Personalised Medicine	a quarterly Interscience journal "dedicated to promoting the research, education and awareness of functional informatics and personalised medicine"
International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management	a quarterly Interscience journal that "provides an international forum and refereed authoritative sources of information in the fields of the economics and management of technology in healthcare"
International Journal of Health Information Management Research	a University of Sheffield-hosted open-access journal covering clinical informatics, e-Health, and health information management
International Journal of Information Management	an Elsevier journal "that address contemporary issues for all those involved in information management"
International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics	an Inderscience journal that covers "the structural/functional aspects of disease mechanisms and the application of technology towards the treatment/management of such diseases"
International Journal of Medical Informatics	the Elsevier-published official journal of the European Federation of Medical Informatics (EFMI)
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care	the official digital journal of Health Technology Assessment International (HTAI) covering "the economic, social, ethical, medical and public health implications of health technology"
Japan Journal of Medical Informatics	a medical informatics journal from the Japan Association for Medical Informatics
Journal of Biomedical Informatics	n Elsevier journal that "emphasizes reports of new methodologies and techniques that have general applicability and that form the basis for the evolving science of biomedical informatics"
Journal of Biomedical Semantics	an open-access journal that "addresses issues of semantic enrichment and semantic processing in the biomedical domain"
Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling	an ACS journal "reporting new methodology and/or important applications in the fields of chemical informatics and molecular modeling"
Journal of Cheminformatics	"an open-access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research in all aspects of cheminformatics and molecular modelling"
Journal of Clinical Bioinformatics	"an open-access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing original research on all aspects of the development of bioinformatics approaches"
Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis	a Wiley journal focused on "newly developing modes of technology and laboratory assays, with emphasis on their application in current and future clinical laboratory testing"
Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing	a Springer journal focused on "the exchange of knowledge and clinical information through the rapid, accurate publication of empirical clinical studies, case reports," and other types of documents and data in the clinical sphere
Journal of Cloud Computing: Advances, Systems and Applications	a SpringerOpen journal focused on "topics that are core to cloud computing, focusing on the cloud applications, the cloud systems, and the advances that will lead to the clouds of the future"
Journal of Community Informatics	a publication of the Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training which focuses on "the study and practice of enabling communities with information and communications technologies"
Journal of Computer Security	an IOS Press journal that "presents research and development results of lasting significance in the theory, design, implementation, analysis, and application of secure computer systems"
Journal of Digital Information	an online journal "on the management, presentation and uses of information in digital environments," supported by the University of Texas Libraries; not accepting submissions
Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries	a quarterly Routledge journal "devoted to the access, evaluation, and management of electronic resources in the medical library environment"
Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries	an open-access biannual journal focused "on health informatics that relate to developing countries"
Journal of Hospital Librarianship	a quarterly Routledge journal that "addresses a wide variety of subjects that are vital to the field, including administrative, technical and program issues that may challenge hospital librarians"
Journal of Hydroinformatics	the official journal of the IAHR-IWA-IAHS Joint Committee on Hydroinformatics, "devoted to the application of information technology in the widest sense to problems of the aquatic environment"
Journal of Information Science	a bimonthly SAGE journal "covering topics of interest to all those researching and working in information science and knowledge management"
Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics	formerly known as Informatics in Primary Care, the journal is specific to "promoting excellence and professionalism in health informatics and improving public awareness and confidence that informatics can enhance health"
Journal of Management Information Systems	a quarterly journal focused on "research that advances the practice and understanding of organizational information systems"
Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology	the official journal of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), "promoting an understanding of the physiological processes underlying disease processes and the appropriate application of technology"
Journal of Medical Informatics	a CNKI Chinese journal covering the field of medical informatics
Journal of Medical Internet Research	an open-access journal on the topic of health and healthcare in the Internet age
Journal of Medical Systems	a Springer journal covering "applications of new systems techniques and methods in hospital, clinic, and physician's office administration; pathology, radiology, and pharmaceutical delivery systems"
Journal of Radiation Oncology Informatics	an open-access journal that "deals with the use of methods of informatics within the medical discipline of radiation oncology"
Journal of Strategic Information Systems	an Elsevier journal "focuses on the management, business and organizational issues associated with the introduction and utilization of information systems as a strategic tool"
Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare	a SAGE journal that "provide[s] a unique perspective on how different countries and health systems are using new technology in healthcare"
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association	the official journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), covering a wide array of biomedical and health informatics topics
Journal of the Medical Library Association	the official quarterly journal of the Medical Library Association (MLA) "that aims to advance the practice and research knowledgebase of health sciences librarianship"
Knowledge and Information Systems	a Springer journal that covers "new advances on all topics related to knowledge systems and advanced information systems"
Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing	a Springer journal that presents "experimental and theoretical developments in biomedical science and technology, and reports on advances in computer-based methodologies in these multidisciplinary subjects"
Medical Care	the official journal of the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association, "devoted to all aspects of the administration and delivery of healthcare"
Medical Decision Making	a bimonthly SAGE journal "offering rigorous and systematic approaches to decision making that are designed to improve the health and clinical care of individuals and to assist with health policy development"
Methods of Information in Medicine	a Thieme journal that concentrates on "the methodology and scientific fundamentals of organizing, representing and analyzing data, information and knowledge in biomedicine and health care"
Microbial Informatics and Experimentation	"an open access, peer-reviewed online journal ... which publishes high-quality research related to the application of computational methods to data from microbial organisms and systems"
Milbank Quarterly	a Wiley journal "devoted to scholarly analysis of significant issues in health and health care policy"
MIS Quarterly	a University of Minnesota-affiliated quarterly journal focused on "the enhancement and communication of knowledge concerning the development of IT-based services, the management of IT resources, and the use, impact, and economics of IT with managerial, organizational, and societal implications"
Mobile Information Systems	an IOS Press journal "providing a forum for state-of-the-art development and research, as well as current innovative activities in mobile information systems"
Neuroinformatics	a Springer journal focused on "data structure and software tools related to analysis, modeling, integration, and sharing in all areas of neuroscience research"
Online Journal of Nursing Informatics	an open-access journal "that focuses on nursing informatics in all practice settings"
Online Journal of Public Health Informatics	an open-access journal "dedicated to the dissemination of information about best [public health informatics] practices among public health practitioners, researchers, and educators"
Open Applied Informatics Journal	a discontinued Bentham Science open-access journal covering "all areas of informatics and applied computer science of relevance to major scientific disciplines"
Open Medical Informatics Journal	a discontinued Bentham Science open-access journal covering "all areas of medical informatics"
Perspectives in Health Information Management	an American Health Information Management Association- (AHIMA-) supported journal dedicated "to advance health information management practice and to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between HIM professionals and others in disciplines supporting the advancement of the management of health information"
PLOS Computational Biology	a journal of the not-for-profit PLOS (Public Library of Science) and an official journal of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), focused on "works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales"
Proceedings of the ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining	a yearly compendium of information collected during the ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications	a Cambridge Journals and EDP Sciences journal covering "the area of theoretical computer science and its applications"
SLAS Technology: Translating Life Sciences Innovation	formerly the Journal of Laboratory Automation, this is the official bimonthly SAGE journal for the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) "devoted to the advancement of technology in the laboratory"
Source Code for Biology and Medicine	an open-access journal covering "all aspects of workflow for information systems, decision support systems, client user networks, database management, and data mining"
Technology and Health Care	an IOS Press journal covering the development and significance of medical and informatics technology in health care
Telematics and Informatics	an Elsevier "interdisciplinary journal examining the social, economic, political and cultural impacts and challenges of information and communication technologies"
Telemedicine and e-Health	a Liebert journal "covering the full spectrum of advances and clinical applications of telemedicine and management of electronic health records"
Theoretical and Applied Informatics	an inactive open-access journal analyzing informatics as it applies to networking, algorithms, engineering, as well as quantum and bioinformatics
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery	a Wiley journal covering data mining and knowledge discovery as they apply to business, government, and the sciences

3.10 Standards, regulations, and guidance

The following represent some of the major instances of standards, regulations, and guidance documents affecting how medical diagnostic and research laboratories should operate. This collection doesn't represent every possibility but covers most of the significant options. In a few cases (e.g., the CLSI), there were too many items to list, and a link to the associated items was included instead.

Accreditation requirements


Accreditation requirement	Description	Relevant medical or research field(s)
AAVLD Requirements for an AVMDL	the laboratory accreditation requirements for the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians	Veterinary medicine
ABFT Accreditation Manual	the laboratory accreditation requirements for the American Board of Forensic Toxicology	Forensic medicine - toxicology
AIHA-LAP Policies 2018	the laboratory accreditation requirements for the American Industrial Hygiene Association	Microbiology - environmental
ASCLD/LAB Supp. Reqs. for the Accreditation of Forensic Science Testing Laboratories	the laboratory accreditation requirements for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation Board; NOTE: ASCLD/LAB has since merged with the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)	Forensic medicine
COLA Laboratory Accreditation Standards	the laboratory accreditation requirements of the Commission on Office Laboratory Accreditation	See description
JCI Laboratory Accreditation Standards	the laboratory accreditation requirements for the Joint Commission International; applicable to microbiology, clinical chemistry, hematology, blood banking and transfusion, cytogentics, and immunology/serology labs	See description
NYS Department of Health - Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program	the laboratory accreditation requirements for New York State's "clinical laboratories and blood banks, including out-of-state facilities that accept clinical specimens collected in New York State"	See description

Guidelines and recommendations


Guideline/Recommendation	Description	Relevant medical or research field(s)
ACMG Standards and Guidelines for Clinical Genetics Laboratories	guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics on the laboratory "use of molecular techniques to examine heritable changes in the human genome"; a more recent version (2014) exists but may only be available to ACMG members	Genetic diagnostics
APHL Clinical Laboratory Preparedness and Response Guide	guidelines from the Association of Public Health Laboratories and the American Society for Microbiology on clinical (and any other) laboratories handling microorganisms and toxins of elevated risk to human health and public safety	Any
ASM Sentinel Level Clinical Laboratory Guidelines for Suspected Agents of Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases	guidelines from the American Society for Microbiology on clinical (and any other) laboratories handling microorganisms and toxins of elevated risk to human health and public safety	Any
CDC Guidelines for Safe Work Practices in Human and Animal Medical Diagnostic Laboratories	guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on biosafety practices in clinical diagnostic laboratories working with human and animal specimens	Any
CDC PHIN Messaging System	guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on using the Public Health Information Network Messaging System	Public health
DAIDS Guidelines for Good Clinical Laboratory Practice Standards	GLP guidelines from the NIH's Division of AIDS (DAIDS) for clinical research laboratories conducting testing that supports a clinical trial sponsored by DAIDS	Clinical research
ICAR 15 Data Exchange	guidelines from the International Committee for Animal Recording for data management and transfer of animal data; though rare, may apply to the occasional veterinary laboratory	Veterinary medicine
NIST 800-53, Rev. 4	recommendations in the form of information security and privacy controls from the National Institute of Standards and Technology; these cybersecurity controls apply to federal systems, though they can be applied to non-federal systems just as readily	Any
WHO Good Clinical Laboratory Practice	guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) for organizations performing testing for clinical trials as part of good clinical practice	Clinical research

Regulations and legal requirements


Regulation or legal requirement	Description	Relevant medical or research field(s)
5 CFR Part 930.301	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 5 CFR § 930.301 Information systems security awareness training program; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories housed in executive agencies of the U.S. government, e.g., National Institutes of Health and Federal Bureau of Investigation	See description
9 CFR Part 121	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 9 CFR § 121 Possession, Use, and Transfer of Select Agents and Toxins; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories interacting with specific biological agents and toxins that pose a threat to public and animal health and safety	See description
18 U.S. Code Part 220 aka EKRA	18 U.S. Code § 220 Illegal remunerations for referrals to recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, and laboratories; aka EKRA, this affects all laboratories and their sales and contracting activities, prohibiting kickbacks and payments based on number of referrals or tests, or the amount billed (and yes, this is getting prosecuted)	Any
21 CFR Part 11	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 21 CFR § 11 Electronic Records and Signatures; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories of all types interacting with electronic records	Any
21 CFR Part 606	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 21 CFR § 606 Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Blood and Blood Components; this would affect medical laboratories collecting, processing, testing, storing, and distributing blood and blood components	Blood banking and transfusion medicine
21 CFR Part 812	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 21 CFR § 812 Investigational Device Exemptions; this would affect central and contract research laboratories conducting clinical investigations of medical devices	Clinical research
29 CFR Part 1910.1030	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 29 CFR § 1910.1030 Bloodborne pathogens; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories of all types that have occupational exposure risk to blood or other potentially infectious materials	See description
29 CFR Part 1910.1096	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 29 CFR § 1910.1096 Ionizing radiation; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories of all types that have occupational exposure risk to ionizing radiation sources such as x-rays, CT or CAT scans, PET scans, fluoroscopy, or any nuclear medicine procedures	See description
29 CFR Part 1910.1200	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 29 CFR § 1910.1200 Hazard communication; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories of all types that have occupational exposure risk to hazardous chemicals, requiring proper notification of the hazards the chemicals pose	See description
29 CFR Part 1910.1450	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 29 CFR § 1910.1450 Occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals in laboratories; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories of all types that have occupational exposure risk to hazardous chemicals, requiring proper procedures and record-keeping related to workplace chemicals	See description
42 CFR Part 73	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 42 CFR § 73 Select Agents and Toxins; this would affect medical diagnostic and research laboratories "that possess SARS-CoV, Lujo virus, or Chapare virus"	See description
42 CFR Part 493 aka CLIA Regulations	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 42 CFR § 493 Laboratory Requirements aka CLIA Regulations; this would affect all medical diagnostic laboratories and apply to select medical research laboratories	See description
45 CFR Part 160 aka HIPAA Regulations	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 45 CFR § 160 General Administrative Requirements aka HIPAA Regulations; this would affect any medical diagnostic and research laboratory "who transmits any health information in electronic form"	See description
45 CFR Part 164 aka HIPAA Regulations	U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 45 CFR § 164 Security and Privacy aka HIPAA Regulations; this would affect any medical diagnostic and research laboratory "who transmits any health information in electronic form"	See description
CJIS Security Policy	U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Justice Information Services Security Policy; this mandates the provision of "appropriate controls to protect the full life cycle of Criminal Justice Information" for "all entities with access to, or who operate in support of, FBI CJIS Division’s services and information"	Forensic medicine (see description)
U.S. state-specific laboratory licensing regulations	an online U.S. state licensing map by Lighthouse Lab Services which links to state-specific licensing requirements and laws	Any

Standards and specifications

Though not listed below, the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) has a mountain of standards for laboratories (though pricey). There are too many to list here, so see their standards repository on their website. Similarly, ASTM International has many other informatics standards that may apply to laboratories. See their Committee E13 on Molecular Spectroscopy and Separation Science and Committee E31 on Healthcare Informatics for more standards.


Standard or specification	Description	Relevant medical or research field(s)
ASTM E1188-11	ASTM International's ASTM E1188-11 Standard Practice for Collection and Preservation of Information and Physical Items by a Technical Investigator; describes best practices for the "collection and preservation of evidence for further analysis"	Forensic medicine
ASTM E1459-13	ASTM International's ASTM E1459-13 Standard Guide for Physical Evidence Labeling and Related Documentation; describes best practices for managing chain of custody for physical evidence	Forensic medicine
ASTM E1492-11	ASTM International's ASTM E1492-11 Standard Practice for Receiving, Documenting, Storing, and Retrieving Evidence in a Forensic Science Laboratory; describes best practices for physical evidence management in order to protect the chain of custody for the evidence	Forensic medicine
ASTM E1578-18	ASTM International's ASTM E1578-18 Standard Guide for Laboratory Informatics; provides educational guidance on the many aspects of laboratory informatics, including "issues commonly encountered at all stages in the life cycle" of such systems	Any
DICOM Standard	the National Electrical Manufacturers Association's (NEMA) Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine standard "to transmit, store, retrieve, print, process, and display medical imaging information"	Various
ICD-10 and 11 Standard	the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Diseases standard for reporting diseases and health conditions; ICD-11 goes into effect 01 January 2022	Various
ISO 15189:2012	International Organization for Standardization's ISO 15189:2012 Medical laboratories — Requirements for quality and competence; this standard "specifies requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories" and is used for developing quality management systems and confirming laboratory competency	Any
ISO/IEC 17025:2017	International Organization for Standardization's ISO 17025:2017 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories; this standard "specifies the general requirements for the competence, impartiality and consistent operation of laboratories" and is used for assuaging others to the competence of the lab	Any
LOINC Standard	the Regenstrief Institute's Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes standard, "a common language (a set of identifiers, names, and codes) for identifying health measurements, observations, and documents"	Various
NAHLN HL7 Messaging Quick User Guide	The Veterinary Terminology Services Laboratory, part of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and its National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) HL7 Messaging standards; this user guide provides the participating veterinary laboratory assistance on using the HL7 messaging protocol and NAHLN standards in order to transmit data	Veterinary medicine
NYS Department of Health Clinical Laboratory Standards of Practice	The New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center's Clinical Laboratory Standards of Practice; this is a two-part collection of laboratory standards for NYS labs and those non-NYS labs that handle specimens originating in NYS, though these standards could effectively be applied by any medical laboratory; includes standards for specialty laboratories	Any
SNOMED CT	SNOMED International's Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms standard, for standardized medical terminology	Various
U.S. National Library of Medicine UMLS	the Unifeid Medical Language System (UMLS), which "integrates and distributes key terminology, classification and coding standards, and associated resources to promote creation of more effective and interoperable biomedical information systems and services"	Various
VeNom Coding Group terminology	VeNom Coding Group's VeNom Veterinary Nomenclature; this is a standardized veterinary terminology "for use in referral veterinary hospital electronic patient records and first opinion veterinary practice management systems"	Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Terminology Services Laboratory terminology options	The Veterinary Terminology Services Laboratory, part of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and its standardized terminology resources; the VTSL maintains a variety of standardized veterinary terminologies, including "the Veterinary Extension to SNOMED CT as well as subsets for the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, AAHA Diagnostic Terms and AAEP Diagnostic Terms"	Veterinary medicine

3.11 LIMSpec

LIMSpec is an ever-evolving set of software user requirements specifications for laboratory informatics systems. The specification has grown significantly from its humble origins over a decade ago. Earlier versions of LIMSpec focused on a mix of both regulatory requirements and clients' "wishlist" features for a given system. The wishlist items haven't necessarily been ignored by developers, but they do in fact have to be prioritized by the potential buyer as "nice to have" or "essential to system operation," or something in between.^[1]^[2]^[3] This latest version is different, focusing strictly on a regulatory-, standards-, and guidance-based approach to building a specification document for laboratory informatics systems.

At its core, LIMSpec is rooted in ASTM E1578-18 Standard Guide for Laboratory Informatics. With the latest version released in 2018, the standard includes an updated Laboratory Informatics Functional Requirements checklist, which "covers functionality common to the various laboratory informatics systems discussed throughout [the] guide as well as requirements recommended as part of [the] guide." It goes on to state that the checklist "is an example of typical requirements that can be used to guide the purchase, upgrade, or development of a laboratory informatics system," though it is certainly "not meant to be exhaustive."

LIMSpec borrows from that requirements checklist and then adds more to it from a wide variety of sources. An attempt has been made to find the most relevant regulations, standards, and guidance that shape how a compliant laboratory informatics system is developed and maintained. However, the LIMSpec should also definitely be considered a continual work in progress, with more to be added as new pertinent regulations, standards, and guidance are discovered.

If you've never worked with a user requirements specification document, the concept remains relatively simple to grasp. Merriam-Webster defines a "specification" as "a detailed precise presentation of something or of a plan or proposal for something."^[4] Within this organized "plan or proposal" are requirements. A requirement typically comes in the form of a statement that begins with "the system/user/vendor shall/should ..." and focuses on a provided service, reaction to input, or expected behavior in a given situation. The statement may be abstract (high-level), or it may be specific and detailed to a precise function. The statement may also be of a functional nature, describing functionality or services in detail, or of a non-functional nature, describing the constraints of a given functionality or service and how it's rendered.

An example of a functional software requirement could be "the user shall be able to query either all of the initial set of databases or select a subset from it." This statement describes specific functionality the system should have. On the other hand, a non-functional requirement, for example, may state "the system's query tool shall conform to the ABC 123-2014 standard." The statement describes a constraint placed upon the system's query functionality. Once compiled, a set of requirements can serve not only to strengthen the software requirements specification, but the requirements set can also be used for bidding on a contract or serve as the basis for a specific contract that is being finalized.^[5]

The next chapter discusses the user requirements specification, using LIMSpec as an example. You'll learn how to shape such a specification to your laboratory's needs, how to issue the specification as a request for information (RFI), and how to get the most out of it when getting decision-related information from vendors. Additionally, in Appendix 1, you'll find a blank version of LIMSpec for practical use, as well as a completed example of LIMSpec to better understand how vendor responses should look.