Connecting the Abbott i-STAT to your LIS or EHR

Point-of-care testing with a handheld analyser is quick at the bedside, but the results still have to reach the systems your clinic runs on. Where that last step is manual, someone reads a value off the handheld or a printout and keys it into the patient record. That takes time, it is easy to transpose a digit, and the record of who did what can be thin.

This page explains, in plain terms, how an Abbott i-STAT can send its results into a laboratory information system (LIS) or electronic health record (EHR), and what Catenix does in the middle so that results flow automatically and quality-control data stays where it belongs.

Quick answer

The Abbott i-STAT reaches the network through its own data-management software, which offers an HL7 result interface. Catenix captures those results at your site with a small on-site gateway, keeps quality-control runs separate from patient results, preserves an audit trail, and can forward the patient results to your LIS or EHR. You avoid manual transcription and keep a clear record of what was received.

What the Abbott i-STAT measures

The Abbott i-STAT is a handheld, cartridge-based blood analyser. A single-use cartridge is loaded for each test, and the menu available depends on which cartridge is used. Across the cartridge range it can report blood gases, electrolytes, a range of chemistries, and cardiac markers.

Catenix does not change what the device measures or how it is operated. Our scope is connectivity: taking the results the analyser already produces and moving them reliably into your other systems. We make no claim about the device's clinical performance or its suitability for any diagnostic decision.

How the i-STAT connects

Individual i-STAT handhelds are not usually wired straight into a clinic network. Instead, readings are gathered by the manufacturer's data-management software, and it is that software that presents results to the wider network. On its public data sheets, that software offers an HL7 result interface, the same general messaging family used across much of healthcare for sending results between systems.

HL7 version 2 is a long-established standard for exchanging clinical messages such as results. In broad terms, each message carries the identifying details of a test event and the values that go with it, structured so that a receiving system can file them against the right record. Catenix speaks this general interface. We do not need, and this page does not publish, any vendor-specific internal detail about how individual values are laid out.

At your site, a small Catenix gateway sits on the local network and receives the result messages the i-STAT software sends. The gateway is the only piece of new hardware involved, and it runs quietly alongside your existing kit.

Results and quality control in Catenix

Once the gateway receives a result, Catenix records it in your cloud workspace with a timestamp and keeps an audit trail of what arrived and when. Nothing is retyped, so the value in the record is the value the analyser produced.

Point-of-care analysers also produce quality-control runs, the checks that confirm the device and cartridges are behaving as expected. Catenix identifies these QC runs and keeps them separate from patient results, so a control sample never lands in a patient's record and your QC history stays intact for review. This separation is worked out from the information in the incoming results, without any change to how the analyser is used.

From there, Catenix can forward the patient results onward to the systems your site already runs, such as a LIS or an EHR. The result flows once, automatically, from the handheld through to the record, and the same audit trail follows it.

Getting connected

To connect an i-STAT, a site typically needs the manufacturer's data-management software configured to send results over the network, a Catenix gateway on that same network, and agreement on where patient results should be delivered. Most of the setup is configuration rather than new equipment.

If you are planning a connection or want to check what your current setup allows, our team can talk it through with you. See /contact/ to get in touch, /platform/ for how the workspace and gateway fit together, and /pricing/ for how it is packaged. For security and data handling, see /security/ and /trust/.

Questions clinics ask

Can I connect an Abbott i-STAT to my LIS?

Yes. The i-STAT's data-management software offers an HL7 result interface over the network, and Catenix captures results from it and can forward them to a LIS or EHR. The main requirement is that the software is set to send results and that a Catenix gateway is on the same network.

Do I need new hardware to make this work?

The only new item is the small Catenix gateway that sits on your local network. Your i-STAT handhelds and the manufacturer's data-management software carry on as they are, and most of the work is configuration rather than installation.

How are quality-control runs handled?

Catenix recognises QC runs in the incoming results and keeps them separate from patient records. Your control results stay grouped for review and never appear against a patient, which keeps both the patient record and the QC history clean.

Will results still be transcribed by hand?

No. Once the connection is live, results move from the i-STAT software into Catenix and onward automatically, so nobody rekeys a value. An audit trail records what was received and when.

Which cartridges or tests are supported?

Catenix carries whatever result the i-STAT software sends, so the tests available depend on the cartridges your site uses rather than on Catenix. We handle the connectivity, not the measurement itself.

How do we get started?

Get in touch through /contact/ and we can review your current setup, the data-management software configuration, and where you want results delivered. See /platform/ for how the gateway and workspace work together.

Product and company names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective owners. Reference to them is for identification only and does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or certification from those owners. This page describes connectivity and data handling only and is not clinical advice.

Reviewed July 2026. Back to integrations. Going deeper on the standard: our HL7 v2 field guide.

Running something we have not listed?

We build analyser drivers to order, including for niche, regional and discontinued instruments. Tell us the make and model and we will tell you what is possible. Custom integrations or request a quote.