Lab test order, from registration to delivery
Every step of a laboratory order, who taps which button, how the TAT clock runs, and what happens on rejection and recollection.
Front office / receptionPhlebotomist / sample collectorLab technicianPathologistLab manager / chief pathologist
A laboratory order moves through seven steps. Each step is one button on the order page, and only roles with the right capability see it. Everyone else sees Next: … — waiting for a colleague whose role allows this step.
Registered → Sample collected → Received in lab → Processing → Reported → Verified → Delivered
Who does each step
| Step (button) | Capability | Roles that can do it |
|---|---|---|
| Register (+ New order → Register order) | diagnostics.register | Front office, phlebotomist, lab technician, radiographer, nurse, doctor, nursing superintendent, lab manager |
| Mark as sample collected | diagnostics.collect | Phlebotomist, lab technician, nurse, nursing superintendent, radiographer, lab manager |
| Mark as received in lab / processing / reported | diagnostics.process | Lab technician, pathologist, lab manager (radiologists technically have it too) |
| Mark as verified | diagnostics.verify.lab | Pathologist, lab manager |
| Mark as delivered | diagnostics.deliver | Lab technician, front office, radiographer, lab manager |
| Reject sample | diagnostics.process | Lab technician, pathologist, lab manager |
| Cancel order, Edit | diagnostics.register | As for registration |
The administrator, medical director and quality manager can do every step. Nurse, doctor, nursing superintendent and medical director exist only in hospitals. See Permissions matrix.
Step by step
1. Register (front desk or phlebotomist)
- Diagnostics → + New order.
- Fill in the Patient card. In a hospital, choosing an admitted patient from the list fills in the details and links the order to the patient.
- Choose Laboratory, enter the Tests / studies requested, and set Priority and Source.
- Keep Attach the protocol checklist ticked and tap Register order.
CareList gives the order an accession number (DX-000001, DX-000002, …), stamps the registration time and attaches the Sample Collection Checklist (due in 30 minutes). This only happens if a published checklist with exactly that name exists. See Protocol checklists.
2. Label and collect (phlebotomist)
- Tap Sample label, choose 1× to 4× copies and tap Print.
- Collect, label at the chair or bedside, and complete the Sample Collection Checklist (Start → answers → signature → Submit inspection).
- Tap Mark as sample collected. The label time now shows the collection time when reprinted.
3. Receive (lab technician)
Scan the label from the Scan tab, or search the accession number in Diagnostics. Check the sample (optionally with Add checklist → Sample Receiving & Rejection Check), then tap Mark as received in lab.
4. Process and report (lab technician)
Tap Mark as processing when the sample is on the analyzer, then Mark as reported when the results are entered. Results stay in your analyzer or LIS. CareList tracks the workflow, the timings and the evidence.
5. Verify (pathologist or lab manager)
Optionally complete Report Verification & Release, then tap Mark as verified. The confirmation shows the final TAT with (on time) or (target missed). If the order is critical, the call must be logged first. See Critical value workflow.
6. Deliver (technician or front desk)
Diagnostics → Ready lists verified orders. Hand over the report and tap Mark as delivered.
The TAT clock
- The clock starts at registration and stops at Verified. Delivery does not count.
- Targets: STAT 1 hour, Urgent 4 hours, Routine 24 hours. Your platform owner can change these targets for your installation.
- The due time is fixed when the order is registered. If you Edit the priority later, the due time is recalculated from the original registration time.
- Past the due time, the order gets a red edge and a TAT breached badge, and it counts in the TAT breached tile.
- Every 5 minutes CareList checks for breaches and sends one alert per order to the pathologists, lab manager, administrator, quality manager and medical director. This runs automatically in the background.
- The Diagnostics header shows today's average TAT and % on time for orders verified today.
Rejection and recollection
- The technician (or pathologist) taps Reject / cancel, chooses Reject sample (recollect), picks a Reason such as Haemolysed or Clotted, and taps Close order.
- The order becomes Rejected. It leaves the TAT figures, and its open checklists are closed and marked overridden with the reason.
- For the recollection, the front desk or phlebotomist registers a new order, which gets a new accession number, a new label and a fresh TAT clock. Put the old accession number in Clinical notes / preparation for traceability.
Cancel order works the same way and needs the register capability, for example for Duplicate order or Patient did not turn up. Finished orders (Verified or Delivered) can no longer be rejected or cancelled.
Audit trail
Every registration, step change, rejection, cancellation and critical call, and every time someone views the order, is written to the Audit log (managers: More → Audit log). See also the help articles Register test orders and Turnaround time and critical values.