What is a Subject?
A subject is the person being tested — a patient, donor, or other individual. Subjects are the top level of the data hierarchy in bLIS. All accessions, samples, test orders, and results are organized under a subject. Each subject has a unique case ID that serves as the primary identifier throughout the system.Data Hierarchy
Subjects are the top level of the data hierarchy. All other records belong to a subject:Subject
Subject
The patient or donor being tested. Identified by a unique case ID.A subject can have multiple accessions over time, creating a longitudinal testing history.
Accessions
Accessions
Each accession is a batch of test orders for a specific point in time.One subject → Many accessions (collected over time)
Samples & Test Orders
Samples & Test Orders
Each accession contains:
- Samples — Biological materials (blood, urine, etc.)
- Test Orders — Specific tests to perform, each linked to a sample
Results
Results
Each test order produces one or more results.Results are the measured values or findings from the test.
Key Fields
Depending on your lab’s configuration, additional identifiers may be available such as UNOS ID (for organ transplant cases) or other custom identifiers.
Subject History
bLIS maintains a complete history for each subject, including:- All accessions — Every test batch associated with this subject
- Result history — All past test results, useful for tracking trends over time
- Sample records — All samples collected from this subject across all accessions
Searching for Subjects
You can search for subjects using any of their identifiers:- Name (full or partial)
- Date of birth
- Medical record number
- Case ID
Related
Accessions
See how subjects are linked to accessions.
Samples
Learn about samples collected from subjects.