healthcare Review Digital Management Systems in Academic Health Sciences Laboratories: A Scoping Review Margareth Timóteo 1,2 , Emanuelle Lourenço 3 , Ana Carolina Brochado 4 , Luciana Domenico 1 , Joice da Silva 1 , Bruna Oliveira 1 , Renata Barbosa 4 , Pietro Montemezzi 5 , Carlos Fernando de Almeida Barros Mourão 1,4, *, Beni Olej 1 and Gutemberg Alves 1, *   Citation: Timóteo, M.; Lourenço, E.; Brochado, A.C.; Domenico, L.; da Silva, J.; Oliveira, B.; Barbosa, R.; Montemezzi, P.; Mourão, C.F.d.A.B.; Olej, B.; et al. Digital Management Systems in Academic Health Sciences Laboratories: A Scoping Review. Healthcare 2021, 9, 739. https:// doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060739 Academic Editors: Giovanni Improta and Paolo Gargiulo Received: 15 May 2021 Accepted: 9 June 2021 Published: 16 June 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Clinical Research Unit, Antônio Pedro Hospital, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi 24020-140, Brazil; margatimoteo@gmail.com (M.T.); ldqueiroz@id.uff.br (L.D.); joicepearl@gmail.com (J.d.S.); brunsoliver4@gmail.com (B.O.); beniolej@id.uff.br (B.O.) 2 Post-Graduation Program in Medical Sciences, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi 24020-140, Brazil 3 Post-Graduation Program in Dentistry, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi 24020-140, Brazil; emanuelle_stellet@yahoo.com.br 4 Post-Graduation Program in Science and Biotechnology, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi 24020-140, Brazil; anacarol.batista.b@gmail.com (A.C.B.); renata_licaa@hotmail.com (R.B.) 5 Independent Researcher, 24128 Bergamo, Italy; m.montemezzi@libero.it * Correspondence: carlosmourao@id.uff.br (C.F.d.A.B.M.); gutemberg_alves@id.uff.br (G.A.); Tel.: +1-941-830-1302 (C.F.d.A.B.M.); +55-21-26299255 (G.A.) Abstract: Good laboratory practices (GLP) increase the quality and traceability of results in health sciences research. However, factors such as high staff turnover, insufficient resources, and a lack of training for managers may limit their implementation in research and academic laboratories. This Scoping Review aimed to identify digital tools for managing academic health sciences and experi- mental medicine laboratories and their relationship with good practices. Following the PRISMA-ScR 2018 criteria, a search strategy was conducted until April 2021 in the databases PUBMED, Web of Sciences, and Health Virtual Library. A critical appraisal of the selected references was conducted, followed by data charting. The search identified twenty-one eligible articles, mainly originated from high-income countries, describing the development and/or implementation of thirty-two electronic management systems. Most studies described software functionalities, while nine evaluated and discussed impacts on management, reporting both improvements in the workflow and system limita- tions during implementation. In general, the studies point to a contribution to different management issues related to GLP principles. In conclusion, this review identified evolving evidence that digital laboratory management systems may represent important tools in compliance with the principles of good practices in experimental medicine and health sciences research. Keywords: scoping review; academic health centers; software; laboratory management 1. Introduction Laboratory research plays an essential role in providing evidence for translational medicine and sustainable solutions to healthcare [1]. However, the reliance on experi- mental medicine demands increased traceability and data integrity, ensuring the quality of transferrable results to the clinical setting. In recent years, the scientific community experienced awareness regarding a reproducibility crisis related to factors such as the pressure for publication, low statistical power, and insufficient supervision [2]. On the other hand, adequate management, training, and good practices may increase data quality by improving workflow, avoiding errors, and providing traceability [2]. Good laboratory practices (GLP) may be defined as a quality system encompassing organizational processes and conditions under which studies are planned, executed, moni- tored, registered, and reported [3]. The Principles of Good Laboratory Practice were first developed by a group of GLP experts led by the USA, established in 1978 under the Special Healthcare 2021, 9, 739. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9060739 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare