Notes:  

• The Health ID option appears only if you are accessing a lab that supports the master patient database (MPD). For more information about the MPD, see Patient Information.

• To search by patient ID, you must first specify a client (as described in step 4 in Initiate an Order).

• If you have an active bridge, appears next to the Search button when you click PID in the Search By list. No matter which option you search by, if the patient has a patient ID, an attempt will be made to retrieve the patient information from the external system.

If the lab supports the MPD, the bridge can be used only if you specify a client before searching for the patient. If you do not specify the client until after the patient is retrieved, the bridge cannot be used, because the patient ID is not retrieved until after the client is specified.

If you are using a bridge and omit the client before searching for the patient, the carrier name used by the external system might not be converted to the mnemonic used by Quest Diagnostics, and you might have to add the insurance information manually (as described in Add or Edit Insurance Information).

• If your bridge is inactive, appears, and the patient information will be retrieved from eLabs without invoking the bridge. You can position the pointer over this symbol to see why the bridge is currently inactive.

• A bridge automatically becomes inactive after a certain number of failures. If this occurs, the bridge remains inactive until you log out and log back in.

• If your bridge is active, and an administrator enabled this feature for you, you can temporarily inactivate your bridge by clicking the bridge symbol. Clicking it again activates the bridge once more. Unless an administrator inactivates your bridge, it will always be active each time you log in, no matter what state it was in the last time you logged out.

• The Order option that appears in this list is not used for placing a new order, but rather for retrieving information about a filed, held, or scheduled order. For more information, see Managing a Filed or Pending Order Using the Bar Code.

Notes:  

• When searching for a patient by name, you can optionally include a comma and at least the first letter of the patient’s first name (such as pat,a).

• If the lab supports retrieving patients from the MPD, any first name is ignored when identifying matching patients in the MPD.

• If you type fewer than three characters of the patient ID, only exact matches will be retrieved.

• If you have an active bridge and search by patient ID, you must type the complete patient ID. For some bridges, the patient ID is case sensitive. If your external system uses a separate identifier (such as a company number) to determine where to retrieve the patient data, you might have to type that identifier first, followed by a hyphen and the patient ID (such as company#-PID).

• The ability to search for pending orders by client is only available if it has been enabled for your facility or performing site.

Notes:  

• If you are searching by name, you must specify the patient’s date of birth. If you are searching by Health ID, any specified date of birth is ignored.

• If you are searching by pending orders, this field does not appear.

Tips: 

• You can control whether or not the search encompasses all of the labs that you can access by selecting or clearing the Search My Labs check box. You can likewise control whether or not the search encompasses labs that you cannot access by selecting or clearing the Search Nationally check box.

• To search for specific text, press Ctrl+f and type the desired text.

• To sort the search results, click the appropriate column heading. You can click the same column heading again to reverse the sort order. If you click to view a patient’s pending orders and then click a column heading, the list of pending orders is collapsed before the search results are sorted.

Notes:  

• The requisition number (Req #) associated with an order may appear in green text to indicate the patient has scheduled an appointment. (You can hover your mouse over the Req # to view the appointment date and time.) The requisition number will be followed by a green “P” in parentheses if the patient has also completed their preregistration for the appointment.

• If a splitter bar appears on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, and the same patient appears both above and below the splitter bar, and the record below the splitter bar has pending orders (as indicated by a plus sign next to the patient’s record), be sure to choose that record rather than the master patient record. This ensures that the pending orders become attached to the master patient record.

• After you choose a patient, if you are prompted to specify an SSN or patient ID, first specify the client. If a patient ID is associated with that client, it appears automatically. Otherwise, click Edit in the Patient Information area and provide either a unique patient ID or SSN, or click OK to automatically generate a patient ID. (If you type a patient ID that is associated with a different patient, that patient is retrieved. Click Cancel and try again.)

• If you retrieve a patient with an insurance carrier that must change based on the location of the client or facility, a message advises you of the change.

• If the patient’s insurance information does not appear, first specify the appropriate client. If insurance information is associated with that client, it appears automatically. Otherwise, you must add it (as described in Add or Edit Insurance Information).

Note: If a connection cannot be made to the external system, a message advises you of this. Click the Close link to close the Combo Bridge Control dialog box and then search for the patient without using the bridge, scan the patient’s driver’s license or other identification card, or add the patient (as described later in this procedure).

Notes:  

• You can make changes on the Bridge Information dialog box, or you can change the information that is imported after you click OK. However, any changes are applied only to this order; no corresponding changes are made to the external system.

• For certain types of bridges, a work telephone number can be retrieved from the external system. This number does not appear on the Bridge Information dialog box, but if it uses the correct format, it is added to the patient record when you click OK.

• For certain types of bridges, an email address can be retrieved from the external system. It is validated when you click OK. If the email address does not use the correct format, you must change or delete it.

• The NPI box appears only if the lab supports NPIs. If the external system sends anything other than ten digits, you must correct or delete the NPI before you click OK.

• If the external system sends a surrogte UPIN, you must delete it or type a valid UPIN in order to import the information.

• The carrier name that appears on the Bridge Information dialog box (if any) is typically converted to the name used for that carrier by eLabs. If this cannot be done, either the Insurance area on the Order Entry page will display the phrase Insurance Mapping DB (IMDB) and you can proceed with the order, or no insurance information will appear, and you must provide it (as described in Add or Edit Insurance Information).

• Any information that is not supported is not imported. For example, if the lab does not support secondary insurance information, that data is not imported, even if it exists in the external system.

• If you retrieve a patient via a bridge, that patient is saved in the eLabs patient database as soon as you click OK on the Bridge Information dialog box, even if you subsequently click Cancel on the Order Entry page.

Notes:  

• If the lab does not support card scanning, the Scan ID button does not appear.

• If the lab supports card scanning, and you are accessing an IOP facility, you can show or hide the Scan ID button by selecting or clearing the Use Attached Card Reader check box in your user profile.

Notes:  

• If you swiped a driver’s license, a unique number derived from the license number is used as the patient ID. You can change this later if you use the data retrieved from the card.

• If you retrieve a patient with an insurance carrier that must change based on the location of the client or facility, a message advises you of the change.

• To add the patient without using the information retrieved from the card, click Add New Patient and add the patient as described in the next section.

Notes:  

• The displayed and required fields vary, depending on the lab, client, and bill type.

• If you specify the patient’s SSN, a patient ID is not required. However, using a patient ID rather than the SSN is recommended.

• If you type an SSN, you can see the number as you type it, but it becomes masked when you move to another field, and only the last four digits are visible. To see the number again, click in the SSN box.

• The patient ID, if any, must be unique for the client.

• If you do not provide an SSN or patient ID, a patient ID is generated automatically when you click OK. (This occurs only if you specified a client before adding the patient.) You can change the patient ID as appropriate.

• To be able to manually generate a cumulative test results report for the patient, you must provide either an SSN or patient ID. For more information, see Generating a Cumulative Test Results Report.

• You can type the zip code in either the City or Zip box and then press Tab to automatically complete the City, State, and Zip fields.

• For some clients, a specific sex appears automatically.

Notes:  

• If a patient is unsubscribed, the system is not able to display this. The Email Verification box displays after the specified date range if the patient provided consent in the past.

• For patients under the age of 18, you are prompted to ask for the email consent from the patient’s parent or guardian.

Note: The Edit button is not active until you specify a client. For more information, see Initiate an Order, beginning with step 4.

Notes:  

• If a Health ID appears, you cannot change or remove it.

• Under some circumstances, if you change an existing patient’s last name, the Key Demographic Field Changed dialog box appears. If it is appropriate to change the existing patient record (for example, if the patient’s name changed due to marriage), click the Update the current patient option button. Otherwise, click the File as new patient option button. Then click OK.

If you chose to file as a new patient, any existing SSN, patient ID, Health ID, or data in the Additional Information area is automatically removed. A new patient ID is generated automatically. (This occurs only if you specified a client before retrieving the patient.) This ID is derived from the patient’s date of birth, sex, and initials. If the automatically generated patient ID is already in use, it is appended with an incrementing number (such as 19580921FAP-01). You can change or remove the patient ID as appropriate.

• If you retrieved the patient from the eLabs database, and you change the client, and the retrieved patient’s SSN or patient ID is associated with a different patient for the new client, a message appears in the Patient Information area, and any existing SSN or patient ID is automatically removed from the retrieved patient. (Any Health ID or data in the Additional Information area is retained.) If an SSN or patient ID is required, you must click Edit in the Patient Information area and provide new data. (You can optionally just click OK on the Edit Patient Information dialog box to automatically generate a unique patient ID, and then click OK again to close the dialog box.)

• If you change the patient’s name, the client receives notification of the change through comments on the test results report (if the lines available for comments are not used to provide other information). The comment is included in the first report that is sent for that patient after the change has occurred; subsequent reports do not contain the comment.

• If you retrieved an existing patient who has insurance, and that patient’s carrier is affiliated with a different lab, the lab with which you are placing the order might change. For more information, see step 6 in Add or Edit Insurance Information.

• Any changes that you make to the patient demographics are automatically saved in the patient’s record when you complete the order.

Note: The admission date cannot be more than 365 days in the past.

Tip: You can use any of the following shortcuts to specify the admission date:

• Type t for today’s date.

• Type y for yesterday’s date.

• Type t-# (where # is the number of days prior to today). For example, type t‑5 to specify the date five days prior to today’s date.

Notes:  

• The arrival time can be no more than 30 minutes in the future.

• You cannot type n to specify the current time.

• If you specify an arrival time when creating a standing or scheduled order, that information is not retained. If you click Save SO+Order (as described in Complete the Order), you must provide the arrival time for that order.

Note: If you specify a visit type for a standing, scheduled, or held order, that information is not retained. However, if you click Save SO+Order (as described in Complete the Order), you must provide the visit type for that order.

Note: If a lab reference ID is received programmatically, that ID will overwrite any ID that you specify.

Note: If the patient uses a special pricing program (such as the Uninsured Patient Program, a QuestCares Offering), or if the lab uses a specially configured carrier for patient pricing, click Insurance.

Caution! If you retrieved information about an existing patient, the bill type changes automatically to reflect the patient’s current record. If you subsequently specify a bill type that requires less data than currently resides in the system (for example, if you change Insurance or Patientto Client), a prompt appears, asking whether or not you want to change the information in the system. Click This patient’s current order and all future orders to update the patient’s record in the system, or click This order only to apply your changes to this order only, and then click OK. If you click This patient’s current order and all future orders, data associated with the previous bill type might be lost.

Note: If Bill Type is set to Client, the Relation list does not appear.

Notes:  

• If the ordering client is a house account, you must have the test results sent to at least one additional recipient (typically the patient or the patient’s physician). For more information about house accounts, see House Accounts.

• You can have copies of the results sent to additional recipients only if the lab supports this feature.

• If Bill Type is set to Insurance, insurance and guarantor information are required.

• If Bill Type is set to Patient, guarantor information is required. (If Relation is set to Self, the patient demographic information is automatically used as the guarantor information.)

Caution! If the patient has any Past Due invoices, the patient must agree to pay the minimum amount shown, or the current order may be canceled.

Note: Closing the dialog box by clicking the Emergency Close Only link that appears in the lower-right corner should only be done in scenarios such as the billing system being down. Use of this link is tracked.

Notes:  

• Blueprint for Wellness, Employer Solutions, ExamOne, and QuestDirect™ orders will display the Open Invoice page if the patient has open invoices, but a minimum payment is not required.

• Consumer orders will display the Open Invoice page if the patient has open invoices and a minimum payment is required for manual orders (not hold orders), unless the Bill Type for the order is Client.

• The Open Invoice page and letter include information about unpaid balances only at the legal entity associated with this order. Unpaid balances at other legal entities are not included.

• Information about a maximum of 99 open invoices can be retrieved. If the patient has more than 99 open invoices, a message indicates that the displayed amount due is not the total amount.

• If the patient has any credit balances or pays any unpaid balance at this time, that information is not reflected in the letter.