Method and means for data management in a laboratory

The present invention relates to a method for data management in an analytical laboratory, particularly in a laboratory for analyzing biological specimens from patients. A method for data management in an analytical laboratory and a data management system include containers provided for the laboratory analysis of biological specimens. Each container is associated with its own identification code. A patient code is associated with a patient to be subjected to analysis. For each container used for a patient, a combination of a patient code and the identification code of the corresponding container is generated in a data processing system. At least one analyzer is used to carry out at least one analysis on the container or containers used for the patient. The analyzer enters the results of the analysis, combined with the identification code of the container or containers, into the data processing system.