Order Management
After you have placed a lab order, you might need to take additional action:
• Manage batches. For orders filed for clients that are configured to use batching (that is, to automatically send orders to a queue from which they can be sorted by transport temperature), you can edit and delete orders in the batch queue, as well as move orders from the batch queue to the hold list. You can also create batches and print batch manifests (that is, a list of the orders in a particular batch). For more information on managing batches, see Managing Batches.
• Manage held orders. For an order that has been placed on hold, you can complete it when you are ready to collect a specimen or otherwise file the order. For more information on managing an order on hold, see Managing Held Orders.
• Manage home draw held orders. For a home draw order that has been placed on hold, you can complete it when you are ready to collect a specimen or otherwise file the order. For more information on managing a home draw order on hold, see Managing Home Draw Held Orders.
• Manage scheduled orders. If specimen collection was scheduled to occur in the future, you can file those scheduled orders. You can also modify or delete a scheduled order. For more information on managing scheduled orders, see Managing Scheduled Orders.
• Manage standing orders. For standing orders, you must file an order each time a specimen is collected. You can also modify or expire a standing order, as well as print renewal letters and renew the standing order
• Manage
• Retrieve orders using the bar code. You can scan or type the bar code number that appears on the PSC hold confirmation letter or a filed or scheduled requisition in order to retrieve that order. For more information, see Managing a Filed or Pending Order Using the Bar Code.
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Note: If you change the station or room for a patient of an LTC client, that information is automatically updated in all of the patient’s pending orders, including expired standing orders. |
Working with the Patient Search - Advanced ResultsWhen you search for a patient
, you can either click the next to the patient, or anywhere within the row containing the patient, to view their pending orders. The following details are shown for each pending order:
• Requisition number (or, for standing orders, the word Original)
• Lab reference ID, if any
• Client’s name and number
• Physician’s name, NPI, and UPIN, if available
• Date when the order was placed (for held orders) or the date when the specimen should be collected (for standing and scheduled orders)
• Originator of the order—Physician, Hospital, PSC/IOP, or PSA (followed by the person’s user name in parentheses) for orders placed using eLabs,
• Status of the order—On Hold for a held order, Scheduled for a scheduled order, SO - Active for an unexpired standing order, SO - Expired for an expired standing order, or SO - Inactive for a standing order for an inactive Companion Diagnostics program
• Actions that you can take for that order
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Tips: • To view a list of the tests in the order, position the pointer over For standing orders, this window also displays the frequency of the standing order, the date when the last specimen was collected (or the phrase 1st Draw if a specimen has not yet been collected), the start and expiration dates, and how many days remain before the standing order expires (0 for an expired standing order). If any of the order codes are invalid or require clarification, an appropriate message appears instead of the test name. • If a pending order has any comments, you can position the pointer over • If any information is too long to display in its entirety, an ellipsis (...) appears. You can position the pointer over the displayed information to see the complete information. • For standing orders, if • To initiate a new search for pending orders by client, click Search Pending Orders at the bottom of either the Patient Search – Advanced Results dialog box or the Patient Search – Pending Orders for Client dialog box. If you have not previously specified the client, click the desired client from the list that appears to display the Patient Search – Pending Orders for Client dialog box, listing pending orders for that client. • The ability to search for pending orders by client is only available if it has been enabled for your facility or performing site. |
or 
. The order code and up to 50 characters of the test name for each test appear in a pop-up window.
to view them.
appears in the Status column, you can position the pointer over that symbol to see the Companion Diagnostics program name and national client number.|
Notes: • If you search for a patient who does not currently exist in the eLabs database, but pending orders that match the specified name and date of birth do exist in the system, the search results include the patient record associated with those pending orders, and the phrase Identity Mismatch appears in red below the patient's Health ID (if any). Make sure that the patient information is correct before taking any action with any pending order. • To see all pending orders placed at Quest Diagnostics labs throughout the country, select the Search Nationally check box. (BluePrint for Wellness, generic, LTC, and previously redirected orders are excluded.) To see only the pending orders for your assigned labs, clear that check box. When you select the Search Nationally check box, some pending orders might have no icon in the Action column. You cannot take any action with those orders. • For consumer orders (including Blueprint for Wellness orders), the lab reference ID is the order number. For more information, see Consumer Orders and Blueprint for Wellness Orders. • If the patient’s last name or date of birth in a pending order does not match the current data for that patient, • If you click |
appears next to the order. You can position the pointer over this symbol to see the name and date of birth associated with that order. Be sure to verify the demographic information before taking any action with any such order.Working with Pending Orders from Other Labs
If you can access more than one lab, and you open a held, scheduled, or standing order via the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box for one of your assigned labs that is not your current lab, you might be able to manually redirect that order to another of your assigned labs. (If the order cannot be processed at the chosen lab, you can still complete the order with its original lab.)
Even if you can access only one lab, you might also be able to file a pending order that was placed with a Quest Diagnostics lab that you cannot access. You can do this only when you retrieve the patient via the Order Entry page, and only when the Search Nationally check box is selected on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box.
These orders fall into the following categories:
• Redirected orders. If your lab supports this feature, you can complete almost any pending order placed with a lab that allows its orders to be processed elsewhere. This ensures that a patient can still have a specimen collected while traveling. For example, if your facility is in Florida, you might be able to file an instance of a standing order that was created for a patient in Pennsylvania. (These orders are sometimes referred to as snowbird orders.)
When you open a redirected order, the lab typically changes from the original lab to your current lab. However, if more than one of your assigned labs can process redirected orders, you are prompted to choose the appropriate one. The client also changes from the original client to the redirect client associated with the performing lab. The original client is added to the list of report recipients. If the client has a fax number in eLabs, the test results are faxed to that client. Otherwise, they are mailed. (The Fax or Mail check box is automatically selected and inactive on the Additional Copies dialog box.)
• Companion Diagnostics orders. Companion Diagnostics orders are standing orders designed to help physicians determine the best treatment approach based on how the patient responds to specific therapies. These orders can be performed at a different lab when the patient is traveling or when the lab where the order was created cannot perform those tests. On the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, 
appears next to any Companion Diagnostics order.
When you file an instance of a Companion Diagnostics standing order that was created for a different lab, the lab typically changes from the original lab to your current lab or the only one of your assigned labs that can process Companion Diagnostics orders. If you are assigned more than one lab that can process Companion Diagnostics orders, you are prompted to choose the appropriate one. The client also changes from the original client to the appropriate national Companion Diagnostics client. The original client is added to the list of report recipients, and the Mail check box is automatically selected and inactive on the Additional Copies dialog box.
• Nationwide orders. Certain clients (such as those associated with transplant centers) are considered nationwide clients. Unlike national clients, which have the same client number at all Quest Diagnostics labs, nationwide clients might have different client numbers at different labs. However, they all have the same mailing address and are mapped to one another by an administrator. This ensures that an order created at a transplant center can be performed by a different lab when the patient returns home, and the results can be mailed to the appropriate location. On the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, 
appears next to any nationwide order.
When you open a nationwide order, the lab typically changes automatically to your current lab or whichever of your assigned labs is appropriate. However, if you can access more than one appropriate lab, you are prompted to choose the desired one. The client also changes from the original client to the appropriate client for the performing lab. Since both clients have the same mailing address, the original client is not added to the list of report recipients. In addition, if the lab changes to any lab other than your current lab, a message advising you where to ship the specimen appears on the requisition.
• Remotely filed orders. As with a redirected order, this order type allows you to complete a pending order placed with a different lab, so that a patient can still have a specimen collected while traveling. However, this functionality is enabled for specific order codes only; for example, to support the more time-sensitive processing of donor and post‑transplant specimens. When you open a pending order, you are automatically granted temporary access to the originating lab, allowing to you file the order in a lab that you cannot normally access. The originating lab is automatically selected as the Lab in which the order will be filed and you have no option to change the lab.
If the tests cannot be performed by your current or selected lab, a message indicates the reason. You might be able to redirect the order to another of your assigned labs or print the information from the order so that you can recreate it at a lab that you can access.
If you split one of these orders manually before filing it, the split order appears in the hold list for your current lab rather than the original lab.
