What are Lab Order Forms?
The Lab Order Form allows you to order tests that are performed on a patient’s specimen (like blood, urine, or tissue) to obtain information about their health. This article describes how practices can create a lab order to be printed for a patient or faxed to a lab vendor.Labs Settings Page
The Labs settings page allows you to manage the list of lab vendors that you want to appear in your Lab Order Form. The Labs settings page is located under “Settings” >> “Labs”. On this page, you can add additional lab vendors, view the set-up status of integrations (if applicable), and add vendor location information for printed orders. Please reference the Labs Settings Guide for more information on the Labs settings page.Creating a Lab Order
There are a few ways to initiate Lab Orders in Elation:- At the top of the patient’s chart, click on the “Orders” >> “Lab Order” button.
- In any visit note or note draft, click on the “Lab” button.
- Use a previous Lab Order to re-order the same test(s).
- *Lab - The vendor with whom you are placing the order. Use the Labs settings page to add additional vendors if needed.
- Site - Designate whether the specimen will be collected at a vendor patient service center or in-house. Additional location specification can be set, if needed.
- Send STAT via Phone - Check this box if you want results urgently by phone. (This is not transmitted in eOrders to lab vendors).
- Send STAT via Fax - Check this box if you want results urgently by fax. (This is not transmitted in eOrders to lab vendors).
- *Test(s) - The test(s) you want completed for the patient. See below for more information about this field.
- *Dx - The diagnosis or diagnoses that are relevant to the test(s) on the order.
- User Tip: If you’ve already entered diagnoses in the patient’s Problem List or visit note, these diagnoses will automatically appear in the dropdown menu for you to select. Use the Problem List Guide to learn more about this feature.
- Coll - if you selected ‘Any site’ or a specific location as the site, this is an optional date field for when the test should be done; if you selected ‘In-house draw’ as the site, enter the date and time of when you collected the specimen.
- *Patient Condition - fasting requirements, if any, for the test(s).
- Bill Type - Whom to bill for the lab test(s).
- Lab Instructions - Any special instructions for the lab vendor. (These instructions are transmitted in eOrders to lab vendors.)
- Notify via - Internal note on how to notify the patient about their lab results.
- Send a copy of test results to - Name(s) of provider(s) to whom you wish to send a copy of results.
- St. Order - Details on the frequency of the test(s) within the order (standing order). (This is not transmitted in eOrders to lab vendors.)
- RMDR - Whom to send an alert in Elation if results are not received by a specified date.
- Keep this confidential - Check this box to mark the order as a confidential record.
Managing lab tests
When you begin typing in the “Tests” field, you’ll see a dropdown menu of search results - i.e. the test compendium. In some cases, these results will correspond with the compendium of the lab vendor that you selected; otherwise, we will show a generic compendium. If you cannot find a test that you wish to order, you can add it as a user-created test with the following steps:- Type the full name of the new test in the “Tests” field.
- In the dropdown menu, click “Create a new test with this name”.
- Verify the name of the test in the pop-up box that appears.
- Click “Create Test” to save the test to your practice’s lab test database.
- You can now use this user-created lab test for any patient.
Take caution when adding new tests to your test database. You will not be able to edit or remove user-created tests after they’ve been added to your database.
Electronic Ordering Users : If you are ordering from a vendor that has been set-up for eOrdering, you will not be able to create your own lab tests for the order form. The tests must be selected from the vendor’s lab compendium. Reference the Bidirectional Lab Interface Guide for additional details about lab vendors that support electronic lab ordering.
Managing Order Sets
Lab Order Forms allow you to template your orders by combining commonly ordered tests and the associated diagnoses into an Order Set. These order sets appear in your Lab Order Form when you search for the order set’s name or a test within an existing order. There are two ways to create an order set:- From the Lab Order Form
- On the Lab Orders settings page
Creating new Order Sets from the Lab Order Form
- Go to a patient’s chart.
- At the top of the patient’s chart, click “Orders” >> “Lab Order”.
- Fill in the test(s) and diagnoses you want to include in an order set.
- Click “Save as order set”.
- Enter a name for the Order Set.
- Click “Save”.
Lab Orders settings page
The Lab Orders settings page contains:- Your default preferences for lab vendor, bill type, and test results sorting
- Lab Order Sets for vendors who have electronic ordering enabled
- Lab Order Sets for vendors with whom you’ll print or fax orders
Adding new order sets
To add new order sets from the Lab Orders settings page- Click the “+ Add Lab Order Set” button.
- Enter a Name for the order set.
- Search for and select the appropriate lab Tests.
- Select diagnosis (Dx) codes commonly related to this order set (as needed).
- Click “Save”.
No two Order Sets can have the same name, regardless of if they are for different lab vendors.
Editing or removing order sets
To edit an existing Order Set on the Lab Orders settings page- Click on the pencil icon next to the order set.
- Make any edits as needed.
- Click “Save” to save your edits.
Re-ordering, changing, or canceling lab orders
To easily re-order a previous order, locate the order in the Chronological Record or under the Reports > Lab Reports tab. Hovering your mouse over the order and clicking “Actions” >> “Reorder”.Sharing lab orders with patients
If the patient is in the office with you, you can print a copy of the lab order. Find the signed lab order in the Chronological Record or under the Reports > Lab Reports tab, and click “Actions” >> “Print”. Besides printing a physical copy, you can share lab orders with patients via Patient Passport, a secure and HIPAA-compliant portal. To share a lab order with a patient via Patient Passport:- Find the signed lab order in the Chronological Record or under the Reports > Lab Reports tab and click “Actions” >> “Send Patient Letter”.
- A new Patient Letter draft will open up with the lab order attached.
- Complete the remaining fields of the Patient Letter as needed.
- Click “Sign & Send” to send the order to the patient’s Passport account.
Sending lab orders to testing facilities
After you create and sign a lab order, you can electronically fax it to a vendor via Elation’s Provider Letter feature.- Find the signed lab order in the Chronological Record or under the Reports > Lab Reports tab and click “Actions” >> “Send Provider Letter”.
- In the ”To” field, type the fax number of the vendor. If a search result appears in the Provider Directory dropdown, click on the result to select an existing contact.
- If this is the first time you are faxing to the vendor from Elation and you are unable to find them in your directory, press the TAB key on your keyboard and a dialog window will appear prompting you to save the fax number to a new contact. Select ”Organization”, type the name of the vendor, and click ”Save”. This will allow you to find the vendor by their name moving forward.
- Type a subject and message to the vendor as needed.
- If you’d like to include additional patient details or other records, click on “Select Chart Items to Attach”. For example, you can check the checkbox for “Patient Demographics” and click “Attach Items”.
- At the bottom of the letter, check the checkbox for “Also fax copies of attachments”.
- Click “Sign & Send” to fax the order to the vendor.
To fax the lab order using a physical fax machine, print a copy of the lab order by clicking “Actions” >> “Print” and then use your fax machine.
Receiving test results
Once a patient completes a lab order and the results are finalized, the lab vendor will send you the test results through two possible methods:- Directly through Elation if you have a results interface setup
- For more information about receiving electronic test results, see the Lab Reports- Viewing results from lab interfaces article.
- For a complete list of lab vendors that can send results electronically via Elation, go to our Integrations page and filter by Laboratories
- Via fax (if your Elation eFax number was shared with them)
- If you disclosed your Elation fax number in your practice header or set up fax forwarding to your Elation Fax Inbox, then the lab results will appear in your Elation Fax Inbox. You can then file the report into the patient’s chart.
Close-the-loop feature
Having awareness of outstanding orders is vital to prioritizing patient outreach efforts and informing future care plans, which is why we offer an optional set of features that can help your practice keep track of outstanding orders. Learn more about the Close-the-Loop experience and how to request access in the Orders Guide- Following up on outstanding lab, radiology or other orders article.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What do the different Bill Types mean?
- Third Party = Bill the Patient’s insurance information on file
- Patient = Bill the Patient directly
- Client = Bill my practice
- Worker’s Comp = Bill the patient’s worker’s compensation payer
- Special Billing = Allows you to designate that you have a special code that you would like to associate with this order.
Can staff members help me create lab orders?
Yes! Staff Level Users can draft lab orders for any patient. Once they are done drafting an order, Staff Level Users can click “Save as Draft & Close” to keep the lab order in the Requiring Action section of the patient’s chart for providers to complete and sign off. When Staff Level Users draft lab orders, the orders are always assigned to the Provider Assigned in Practice that’s designated in the patient’s demographics. If you would like to allow staff members to sign lab orders on your behalf, you can assign them as a delegate. Learn more about staff delegates here.Does Elation have any integrations with lab centers?
Yes, Elation has integrations with many lab centers to receive electronic imaging results. For a subset of these lab vendors, we can also send orders electronically from the Lab Order Form. You can always view the latest list of integrated partners on our Partners page. To request an integration with one of our integrated partners, click the “I need help” >> “Contact Elation Support” button at the top of your Elation account and send the following information to our Support Team:- Name of the lab center
- Full name of your lab center representative
- Email and phone number of your lab center representative
Can I order other medical tests in Elation?
Yes! You can also order imaging (radiology), cardiac, pulmonary, and sleep tests in Elation. Find out more about the different medical tests forms in the Order Forms Introduction article.Related Articles
- Order Forms Introduction- Ordering medical tests for your patients
- Bidirectional Lab Interface Guide
- Patient Chart Guide- Managing confidential records
- Electronic Lab Order Interface Vendors
- Electronic Lab Result Interface Vendor
- Labs Settings Guide
- Elation Patient Passport Guide
- Letters & Referrals Guide- Sending messages to patients & corresponding with third party professionals
- Letters & Referrals Guide- Managing & searching the provider directory
- Lab Reports- Viewing results from lab interfaces
- Orders Guide- Following up on outstanding lab, radiology or other orders
- Staff Permissions / Staff Delegates
- Problem List Guide