Manage Standing Orders for a Specific Patient

1 In the menu bar, click Order Entry.

Note: The Order Entry menu appears only if you can place orders with your current lab.

If the Order Entry page appears, go to step 2. If the Check-In Queue page appears, click Call Next Patient, click  for the patient whose standing order you want to manage, and then go to step 3.

Notes:  

• The Check-In Queue page appears only if your current facility supports this feature. For information about changing your facility, see Changing the Facility.

• If the information provided by the patient at the Check-In kiosk is incorrect (for example, if there was a typo in the patient’s name), click Cancel on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box. On the Check-In Queue page, click Order Entry and then go to step 2.

• For more information about using the Check-In Queue, see Initiate an Order.

2 Do one of the following:

Notes:  

• You can access generic standing orders only if the Include Generic (Held, Scheduled, Standing) check box is selected in your user profile.

• You can access redirected orders, nationwide orders, and Companion Diagnostics standing orders associated with labs that are not assigned to you only from the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box. If you retrieve the patient and then click the View Standing Orders link in the Patient Information area, you will see only the standing orders for the lab and client that appear on the Order Entry page.

• Display the list of all pending orders for a specific patient. Search for the patient (as described in Retrieve or Add a Patient). On the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, click next to the patient whose standing order you want to manage.

For more information about the displayed pending orders, see Working with the Patient Search - Advanced Results or the Patient Search - Pending Orders for Client Dialog Box.

• Display the list of all standing orders for a specific patient and client. Retrieve the patient (as described in Retrieve or Add a Patient) and click the View Standing Orders link in the Patient Information area.

Note: You must specify the client in order to see the View Standing Orders link.

All standing orders associated with the specified patient and client appear on the Standing Orders dialog box. If more than one standing order exists, you can browse from one order to the next by clicking the arrows at the top of the dialog box.

Notes:

• If an instance of the standing order has already been filed within the specified interval, the phrase early appears in the Status area. You can file an instance of this standing order, but you must provide the reason for doing so.

• If a standing order contains an order code that is no longer valid (for example, if the lab no longer performs a particular test, or if the client is no longer allowed to order that test), the phrase (inactive) appears in red after the test name. You cannot file an order that contains an invalid order code, and you should not print a standing order renewal letter for it or renew it.

• If a held order was placed without a draw fee and a draw fee is required at your facility, you are required to add one or to select the Draw Fee Not Required check box before you can file the order.

• If or appears in the Status area, you can position the pointer over that symbol to see the Companion Diagnostics program name and national client number.

• If appears, you can click that symbol to open the Companion Home Draw dialog box to view and print Companion home draw letters. For more information, see Printing Companion Home Draw Letters.

3 Do one of the following:

Note: If appears for a particular patient on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, clicking the select or edit icon under the Action column might automatically change the lab and client to the appropriate ones, and you will not be able to use accessioning.

a Click or the Select link for the standing order that you want to file.

Notes:  

• For LTC clients, the select icon does not appear on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box. On the Standing Orders dialog box, the phrase LTC appears in red instead of the Select link. Standing orders for LTC clients can be filed only via the draw list.

• If you try to file an instance of a Companion Diagnostics standing order, and none of your assigned labs can process those orders, a message advises you of this. You cannot work with that order.

• You cannot file an instance of a Companion Diagnostics standing order for a program that is currently inactive.

b If the standing order has a future start date, or if an order has already been placed within the specified interval (for example, if the specimen is to be collected once a week, and you try to file an order for a second time in the same week), a message advises you of this.

To place the order now anyway, in the Comment box, type the reason for filing the order now, and then click OK on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box or click Continue on the Standing Orders dialog box.

Note: This message does not appear if the standing order frequency is daily and the interval is less than every five days.

c If you are using the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box and you are prompted to choose a lab for the order, click the appropriate one and then click OK.

d If a message indicates that the order cannot be redirected, do one of the following:

• If you were previously prompted to choose a lab and you want to try to send the order to a different lab, click OK and then open the order again. You can also click OK if you simply want to proceed without printing information about the pending order.

• If you want to see information about the pending order, click Print Patient Pending Info. When the Print dialog box appears, click Print, or click Cancel to review the information before printing it. You might be able to use this information to create a new order for a lab that you can access.

e If a confirmation message appears, indicating the Companion Diagnostics program name and national client number, click OK.

f If an order entry message appears, review that message and then click Close.

Tip: If you need to see this message again later, click in the bar with the buttons.

g Make any appropriate changes to the order (as described in Placing an Order).

You can typically change any aspect of the order except the lab, client, or patient’s SSN or patient ID. For some clients, you cannot remove an existing lab reference ID. You also cannot remove the patient, although you can search for a different one (if you accessed the order from the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, not the Standing Orders dialog box).

For redirected and Companion Diagnostics standing orders, the original client appears in the Additional Copies area, and you cannot remove or edit that recipient or any other recipients from the original order. (For Companion Diagnostics orders, you also cannot add any tests that are not part of the program.)

Notes:  

• If the Redirect Order button appears, and you want to send the order to a different lab, click that button, click the appropriate lab in the list, and then click OK.

If you made any changes to the order before clicking Redirect Order, a message advises you that your changes will be lost. Click OK to proceed with redirecting the order, or click Cancel to retain your changes and complete the order with the original lab.

If the order cannot be processed at the chosen lab, a message advises you of this. Click OK to complete the order with the original lab.

• For redirected and nationwide orders, confirm the bill type with the patient. If the carrier mnemonic at the original lab does not match the mnemonic at the performing lab, choose the appropriate carrier. (The insurance ID and other related information is retained.)

• If the order contains merged information from other duplicate pending orders that were eligible to be placed the same day, the merged requisition numbers will be listed, along with a count of the duplicate test codes that were deleted.

• If you change the patient demographics, physician, or billing information, the original standing order is typically updated automatically. However, if you specify a bill type that requires less data than currently resides in the system (for example, if you change Bill Type from Insurance or Patient to Client), a prompt asks whether or not you want to change the information in the system. To update the original standing order, click This patient’s current order and all future orders and then click OK. Otherwise, any changes that you make will apply to this instance only. (For redirected and nationwide standing orders, no changes are incorporated in the original standing order.)

For Companion Diagnostics standing orders, Bill Type automatically changes to Client for this order only (if a different bill type was specified for the original standing order).

• If the order includes only ICD‑9 codes, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between an ICD-9 code and an ICD‑10 code, the corresponding ICD-10 code automatically replaces the ICD-9 code. Any ICD-9 codes that do not have a single corresponding ICD-10 code are retained in the order and identified as written diagnoses on the requisition when you file the order.

• A redirected, nationwide, or Companion Diagnostics standing order cannot be scheduled for the future.

• If you manually split a redirected or nationwide order, the specified tests are put on hold for your current lab rather than the original lab. (You cannot split a Companion Diagnostics standing order.)

• If the standing order included any alternate order codes, they are automatically replaced with primary codes.

h If a one or more order codes are invalid, the affected codes appear in bold red text in the Profiles/Tests area, preceded by . In the adjacent list, click the option that indicates how you handled each code. If none of the listed options is appropriate, click Other, type an appropriate response on the Reconcile dialog box, and click OK.

When an invalid order code is reconciled, appears next to the code. You cannot file the order until you have reconciled all of the invalid codes.

i Click File and print the requisition and labels.

j If you initiated the order from the Check-In Queue, click Done for the appropriate patient.

a Click or the Edit link for the standing order that you want to modify.

Notes:  

• You can edit standing orders only for your assigned labs. If the Search Nationally check box is selected on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, does not appear next to orders for labs that you cannot access.

• You cannot edit a Companion Diagnostics standing order for a program that is currently inactive.

b In the Comment box, type the reason for modifying the order, and then click OK (if you clicked the edit icon on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box) or Continue (if you clicked the Edit link on the Standing Orders dialog box).

These comments appear in the requisition log.

c If an order entry message appears, review the message and then click Close.

Tip: If you need to see this message again later, click in the bar with the buttons.

d Make any desired changes to the order (as described in Placing an Order), and then click Save SO or Save SO+Order.

You can typically change any aspect of the order except the lab, client, patient’s SSN or patient ID, or the starting date of the standing order. For some clients, you cannot change an existing lab reference ID. You also cannot remove the patient, although you can search for a different one.

Notes:  

• You can search for a different patient only if you accessed the order from the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, not the Standing Orders dialog box.

• If the order includes only ICD‑9 codes, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between an ICD-9 code and an ICD‑10 code, the corresponding ICD-10 code automatically replaces the ICD-9 code. Any ICD-9 codes that do not have a single corresponding ICD-10 code are retained in the order and identified as written diagnoses on the requisition when you file the order.

• You cannot add images of the patient’s insurance cards to an original standing order. You can do that only when you file an instance of the standing order (as described previously).

• If a one or more order codes are invalid, they appear in bold red text in the Profiles/Tests area, preceded by . In the adjacent list, click the option that indicates how you handled each code. If none of the listed options is appropriate, click Other, type an appropriate response on the Reconcile dialog box, and click OK.

When an invalid order code is reconciled, appears next to the code. You cannot save the standing order until you have reconciled all of the invalid codes.

• If the order is for an LTC client, if the Home Draw check box was selected, or if the standing order was scheduled to begin in the future, the Save SO+Order button does not appear.

• If the standing order included any alternate order codes, they are automatically replaced with primary codes.

Your changes are saved and will appear the next time an instance of this standing order is filed. If you clicked Save SO+Order, you are also prompted to file an instance of this order.

a On the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, click for the standing order whose reminder you want to change.

If a reminder has already been set up, the settings appear on the Reminder Notification dialog box automatically.

Notes:  

• The reminder icon does not appear if the standing order has a daily frequency.

• If the Search Nationally check box is selected on the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, does not appear next to orders for labs that you cannot access.

• If you are currently viewing the Standing Orders dialog box rather than the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box, browse to the appropriate standing order and click the Edit link.

To stop an existing reminder, clear the Send Reminder check box. To change the reminder method, click Edit next to the Send Reminder check box and complete the Reminder Notification dialog box. To start a reminder, select the Send Reminder check box and complete the Reminder Notification dialog box. For more information, see Specify Standing Order Details.

b Review the displayed information with the patient and do one of the following:

• To have the reminder sent via email, in the Reminder Method list, click Email. If the patient’s email address exists in eLabs, it appears automatically in the Email box. If no email address appears, or if it is incorrect, type the patient’s email address.

• To have the reminder sent via a text message, in the Reminder Method list, click Text Message. If the patient’s mobile telephone number exists in eLabs, it appears automatically in the Mobile Phone box. If no phone number appears, or if it is incorrect, type the patient’s mobile phone number. Be sure to advise the patient that any text messaging charges apply.

• To have the patient called by telephone, in the Reminder Method list, click Phone Call. In the Phone area, click the appropriate option (Home, Work, or Mobile). If the specified type of phone number exists for the patient in eLabs, it appears automatically in the adjacent box. If no phone number appears, or if it is incorrect, type the appropriate phone number.

• To stop an existing reminder, click Remove. (This button appears only if a reminder is enabled for this standing order.) The dialog box closes, and reminders will no longer be sent for this standing order.

Note: For US phone numbers, you must include the area code. For international phone numbers (which begin with 011), the phone number can include up to 20 digits.

c If you added or changed a standing order reminder, click Save.

Any email address or phone number that you provided is automatically saved with the patient’s record, even if you subsequently stop the reminder.

Notes:  

• If you are currently viewing the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box rather than the Standing Orders dialog box, click in the Actions column before proceeding. (This icon appears only for standing orders for your assigned labs. If the Search Nationally check box is selected, this icon does not appear next to orders for labs that you cannot access, and you cannot expire them.)

• For information about expiring standing orders for multiple patients of a client simultaneously, see Manage Standing Orders for a Specific Client or Facility.

• You cannot expire a Companion Diagnostics standing order for a program that is currently inactive.

a On the Standing Orders dialog box, click the Expire link for the standing order that you want to expire.

b In the Comment box, type the reason for expiring the order, and then click Continue.

The Status area displays expired, and any reminders will be discontinued.

Notes:  

• If you are currently viewing the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box rather than the Standing Orders dialog box, click in the Actions column before proceeding. (This icon appears only for standing orders for your assigned labs. If the Search Nationally check box is selected, this icon does not appear next to orders for labs that you cannot access, and you cannot print renewal letters for them.)

• If the standing order contains an order code that is no longer valid (for example, if the lab no longer performs a particular test, or if the client is no longer allowed to order that test), the phrase (inactive) appears in red after the test name on the Standing Orders dialog box. Do not print a renewal letter for an invalid test.

• You cannot print a renewal letter for a Companion Diagnostics standing order for a program that is currently inactive.

• For information about printing standing order renewal letters for multiple patients simultaneously, see Manage Standing Orders for a Specific Client or Facility.

a On the Standing Orders dialog box, click the Print Renewal link for the standing order for which you want to print a renewal letter.

Note: Some labs do not support the capability to print renewal letters. For those labs, the Print Renewal link does not appear.

b When you are prompted to open or save the file, take the appropriate action to display the renewal letter or save the file to a specified location, which you can later open and print manually.

c Use the appropriate procedure for your version of Adobe Reader to print the letter.

Notes:  

• If you are currently viewing the Patient Search - Advanced Results dialog box rather than the Standing Orders dialog box, click in the Actions column before proceeding. (This icon appears only for standing orders for your assigned labs. If the Search Nationally check box is selected, this icon does not appear next to orders for labs that you cannot access, and you cannot renew them.)

• If the standing order contains an order code that is no longer valid (for example, if the lab no longer performs a particular test, or if the client is no longer allowed to order that test), the phrase (inactive) appears in red after the test name. If the standing order has not expired, you can edit it (as described previously) and add a different test, as appropriate.

• You cannot renew a Companion Diagnostics standing order for a program that is currently inactive.

a On the Standing Orders dialog box, click the Renew link for the standing order that you want to renew.

Notes:  

• If the standing order included any alternate order codes, they are automatically replaced with primary codes when you renew the order.

• If the standing order did not include an ICD-10 diagnosis code, a message appears. Click OK and edit the standing order (as described previously) to add an ICD-10 code. Then you can renew the order.

b In the Start Date box, type the date when the first specimen should be collected.

Tip: To specify a future date, you can type t+# (where # is the number of days after today). For example, type t+14 to specify the date 14 days from today.

Note: The start date cannot be more than 365 days in the future.

c In the End Date box, type the date when the order should end.

Note: For non-Companion Diagnostics standing orders, the end date cannot be more than 186 days from the start date. For Companion Diagnostics standing orders, the end date cannot be more than the maximum time frame defined for the specified program (such as five years).

d In the Comments box, type any comments that you want to include when you review this standing order and in the requisition log, as well as on the master list that is used by mobile phlebotomists.

e Click Continue.

A new standing order is created with the specified dates. (If you renewed an active standing order, that order remains active until it is expired. For information about expiring a standing order, see the preceding section on expiration.)

If the original standing order included a reminder, that reminder applies to the new standing order as well. For information about changing the reminder, see the preceding section on reminders.