Contents
The
Lab Order Form allows you order testing on patients' bodily fluid or tissue to obtain information about their health. This article is practices that are creating lab orders to print for patients or fax to lab vendors.
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User Tip: For certain lab vendors, Elation has an electronic lab ordering interface with that vendor. We recommend reading the
vendor specific help center article for more information on how to use the
Lab Order Form.
The
Labs settings page allows you to manage the list of laboratory vendors that you want to appear in your
Lab Order Form in Elation. The Labs settings page is located under "Settings" >> "Labs". From this page, you will be able to view the status of lab integrations, add laboratory vendors to your laboratory vendor list for ordering laboratory tests and add vendor location information for printed orders. Please reference the
Labs Settings Guide for more information on the
Labs settings page.
There are a few ways to initiate Lab Orders in Elation:
- Clicking on the "Orders" >> "Lab Order" button at the top of the patient's chart
- Clicking on the "Lab" button in any visit note or note
- Using an existing Lab Order and re-ordering the same tests
The
Lab Order Form has the following fields and the fields with an asterisk are required fields:
- *Testing vendor - which test vendor you recommend the patient goes to. Use the Labs settings page to add additional vendors if needed
- STAT by Phone- check this box if you want results urgently by phone
- STAT by Fax- check this box if you want results urgently by fax
- *Test(s)- which test(s) you want the patient to complete. See below for more information about this field
- *Diagnoses- which health condition is related to the test(s)
-
User Tip: If the patient has problems with associated diagnosis codes in the patient's
Problem List, those codes will automatically appear in the dropdown for you to select. Use the
Problem List Guide to learn more about this feature.
- *Pt condition- if fasting is required and how long
- Do test on- when you want the patient to complete the test(s)
- Copy To- which provider do you want to also send a copy of results to
- Bill Type- who to bill for the testing
- Lab Instruction- any special instructions for the test vendor
- Notify Via- internal reference for how the patient prefers to be notified about their lab results
- St. Order- how frequently the patient needs the same tests (standing order)
- End Date- when the standing order expires
- Keep as confidential- use this checkbox to mark the order as a confidential record.
-
User Tip: If you mark a record as confidential, that record will always have a special indicator that can be seen from anywhere in the patient's chart. This will allow members of your practice to take caution when printing or sharing the record. Learn more about confidential records in the
Patient Chart Guide- Managing confidential records article.
Once you are ready to complete a Lab Order, click "Print & Close" or "Sign & Close" a the bottom of the
Lab Order Form.
When you begin typing in the "Tests" field you will begin to see a dropdown of tests that are part of your lab test database. If there is a test you want to order that does not appear in the lab test database, you can add the test to your database by following these steps:
- Type the full name of the test in the "Tests" field
- Click "Create a new test with this name" or click away from the "Tests" field
- Verify the name of the test in the "Create New Lab Order Test" box that appears
- Click "Create Lab" to save the test to your lab test database
- You can now use this lab test for any patient.
Important Note: Take caution when adding new tests to your test database. You will not be able to edit or remove test names after adding the test to your test database.
Electronic Ordering Users:
For customers who are using an electronic lab ordering interface with Elation, you will only be able to select tests from the lab’s compendium database. You will not be able to create your own lab tests. Reference the
Bidirectional Lab Interface Guide for additional details about lab vendors that support electronic lab ordering.
Lab Order Forms allow you to create templated orders by combining commonly ordered tests and the associated diagnoses into an
Order Set. You can generate order sets
- directly in a Lab Order Form
- via the Lab Orders settings page
- Go to a patient's chart
- Click "Orders" >> "Lab Order" at the top of the patient's chart
- Fill in the test(s) and diagnoses you want to include in a order set
- Click "Save as Order Set"
- Enter a name for the Order Set
- Click "Save"
You can now use this order set for any patient. You can click "View Order Sets" from the
Lab Order Form to see all of your Order Sets or use the
Lab Orders settings page to manage your order sets.
The
Lab Orders settings page contains:
- Lab Order Settings for default lab vendor, bill type and test sorting
- custom Lab Order Sets created for any lab vendor where you have an electronic ordering interface turned on, as well as Lab Order Sets for manual lab requisitions for regular lab vendors.
You will be able to add, edit or remove order sets for your manual lab requisitions from this page.
To add new order sets from the Lab Orders settings page
- click the “+ Add Lab Order Set” button
- enter a Name for the order set
- search for and select the appropriate lab Tests
- select diagnosis (Dx) codes commonly related to this order set (as needed)
- click "Save"
Important Note: No two Order Sets can have the same name, regardless of if they are for different lab vendors.
To edit an existing Order Set in the Lab Orders settings page
- click on the pencil icon next to the order set
- make any edits as needed
- click "Save" to save your edits.
To remove an existing order set, click the trash can icon.
Previous lab orders can be easily re-ordered by hovering over the signed order in the Chronological Record or in the
Reports tab and clicking “Actions” >> “Reorder”.
The best method of sharing lab orders with patients is via
Patient Passport as it is a secure and HIPAA-compliant portal and patients will always have access to the lab order. To share a lab order with a patient via Patient Passport:
- Find the signed lab order in the Chronological Record or in the Reports tab and click “Actions” >> “Send Patient Letter”
- A new Patient Letter draft will open up with the lab order attached
- Complete the remaining fields of the Patient Letter as needed
- Click "Sign & Send" to send the order to the patient's Passport account
The patient will receive a notification that new information was shared with them via their Passport account and the patient can sign in to their Passport account at any time to view and print the lab order.
Alternatively, you can always print a lab order and hand the lab order to the patient if the patient is in the office with you. To print a lab order, find the signed lab order in the Chronological Record or in the
Reports tab and click “Actions” >> “Print”
After you create and sign a lab order, you can electronically fax it to a vendor via Elation's
Letter to Provider feature.
User Tip: Review the
Bidirectional Lab Interface Guide to see a list of specific Lab Vendors that can receive electronic orders directly through an interface with Elation. You will not need to send a fax to these Lab Vendors.
- Find the signed lab order in the Chronological Record or in the Reports tab and click “Actions” >> “Send Provider Letter”
- In the “To” field, type the fax number of the vendor. If a search result appears in the Provider Directory dropdown, click on the result to select an existing contact.
- If this is the first time you are faxing to the vendor and you are unable to find them in your directory, press the TAB key on your keyboard and a dialogue window will appear prompting you to save the fax number to a new contact. Select “Organization”, type the name of the vendor, and click "Save". This will allow you to search for the vendor by their name moving forward.
- Type a subject and message to the vendor as needed.
- Next, click on “Select Chart Items to Attach”.
- Check the checkbox for "Patient Demographics" and click “Attach Items”.
- At the bottom of the letter, check the checkbox for “Also fax copies of attachments”.
- Click “Sign & Send” to fax the order to the vendor.
Important Note: To fax the lab order outside of Elation with your physical fax machine, you can print a copy of the lab order by clicking “Actions" >> "Print” and then use your fax machine.
Once a patient completes a lab order and the results are finalized, the lab vendor will send you the test results:
- directly through Elation if you have a results interface set up
- via fax (if a fax number was shared with them)
Being aware of outstanding orders is vital to prioritizing patient outreach efforts and informing future care plans, which is why we have incorporated an optional set of features that will help your practice keep track of outstanding orders. Learn more about the
Close-the-Loop experience and how to request access in the
Orders Guide- Following up on outstanding lab, radiology or other orders article.
What do the different Bill Types mean?
- Third Party= Bill the Patient's insurance information on file
- Patient= Bill the Patient directly
- Client= Bill my practice
- Worker's Comp= Bill the patient's worker's compensation payer
- Special Billing= Allows you to designate that you have some kind of special discount code or code that you would like to associate with this order. Add the code to the Lab Instr field
Can staff members help me create lab orders?
Yes! Staff Level Users can draft sleep orders for any patient. Once they are done drafting an order, Staff Level Users can click "Save as Draft & Close" to keep the lab order in the Requiring Action section of the patient's chart for providers to complete and sign off. When Staff Level Users draft lab orders, the orders are always assigned to the
Provider Assigned in Practice as noted in the patient's demographics.
If you would like staff members to sign lab orders on your behalf, you can assign them as a delegate.
Learn more about staff delegates here.
Does Elation have any integrations with lab centers?
Yes, Elation does have any integrations with certain lab centers and we can receive electronic imaging results from these centers. For a small subset of these lab vendors, we can also send orders electronically from the Lab Order Form. You can always view the most up to date list of integrated partners in our Partners page. To request an integration with one of our integrated partners, click the "I need help" >> "Contact Elation Support" button at the top of your Elation account and send the following information to our Support Team:
- Name of the lab center
- Full name of your lab center representative
- Email and phone number of your lab center representative
Can I order other medical tests in Elation?
Yes! You can also order imaging (radiology), cardiac, pulmonary and sleep tests in Elation. Find out more about the different medical tests forms in the
Order Forms Introduction article.
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