Accessing Patient Test Results

If an administrator enabled this feature for you, you can view and print patient test results as soon as they are available. In addition, if the client whose reports you are accessing supports HL7 downloads, you can download the test results in HL7 format so that you can import the information into an external PMS, POS, or EMR system, and add the test results to the patient’s chart.

The Home page displays the total number of new reports that are available for all of the clients that you can access. In addition, if the lab supports this feature, the Home page might also display a subtotal of the new reports that have an advisory message (that is, information about a test that is in question or could not be performed). After you print a particular report, it is no longer considered new (and is therefore not included in the totals that appears on the Home page), but you can still view, print, and download the report again.

When retrieving patient test results, you can search by the patient’s name, SSN, or patient ID; the physician’s name; the requisition number; the lab reference ID that was specified when the order was filed; or the accession number. You can also limit your search to a specific date range, result status (only abnormal results, only normal results, or both), and report status (that is, whether or not all of the tests associated with the order have been completed).

The list of retrieved reports indicates whether or not all of the results are available, and whether a result was normal or abnormal (that is, if the result was outside the reference range, or if a microbiology result was clinically significant). If it was not possible to determine whether the results were normal or abnormal, the phrase See Report appears.

In addition, if the lab supports this feature and a report includes one or more advisory messages, appears next to the result status. To see the message, you can view or print the report.

Patient reports typically include the report status, the patient demographic information, the ordering provider’s name (if available), the client number and address, the accession and requisition numbers, the date and time that the specimen was collected and received, the date and time that the result was reported, the results of the tests performed (if available), and information about the lab that performed the test. If the test was performed at a different lab (for example, if the patient went to a Quest Diagnostics PSC while traveling), a cover letter with additional details might be included.

Notes:

• If you try to view, print, or download a single report that has been archived, and the report cannot be retrieved at this time, a message advises you of this. You can try again later.

If you try to print or download multiple reports, and one or more of those reports has been archived and cannot be retrieved at this time, none of the reports are printed or downloaded. You can try again later.

• For Employer Solutions reports, you can sort and browse through the list of matching results, and print one or more reports, but you cannot view an online version of these reports or download them.

• If a report is re-sent by the lab (for example, if a communication problem occurred and the original results weren’t received), and if the lab includes the appropriate information in the file that it re-sends, the date that the report was originally created (rather than the date that the report was re-sent) appears on the report, and the word Reprint appears in the Report Status area of the report.

In addition, if an administrator enabled this feature for you, the re-sent status is reflected in any HL7 data that you download. (The phrase R^REPRINT appears in the ORC.16 field.) This also applies to any HL7 data sent to Lightning.

• If you view or print a report that was copied from a different client, the original client number appears on the report. However, if you download such a report in HL7 format, the new client number is included, along with a message indicating the number of the client for which the results were originally reported.

• If you view or print a report that was generated by a lab or for a client other than the one with which the order was placed, information about the original lab and client appear in the report comments or on a separate cover sheet included with the report. The NTE segment of the downloaded HL7 results includes that information as well.