Healthcare organisations often work with multiple laboratories across their region to request diagnostic testing. The processes involved in ordering laboratory tests and receiving results are frequently complex. Healthcare providers and laboratories each have their own ways of working, supported by different systems, requirements, stakeholders and partner organisations.
This complexity means that digitalising these processes can often lead to frustration and challenges. How do you bring so many variables and exceptions together into a workable digital workflow? How do you align everyone involved, both internally and externally, while improving security and eliminating unnecessary duplicate data entry and manual tasks?
At CODE24, we help healthcare organisations digitalise these seemingly complex processes through our solution, Lab24. Over the years, we have completed numerous implementation projects and have repeatedly encountered the same challenges. To help your organisation prepare for the digitalisation of its laboratory ordering process, we have summarised five key lessons learned from real-world practice. After all, why reinvent the wheel?
Many healthcare organisations already operate within a highly complex IT landscape. Naturally, you want your systems to work together seamlessly. A well-integrated laboratory ordering solution ensures that:
New software fits naturally into existing workflows;
No additional login is required;
Colleagues do not spend valuable time entering the same information multiple times.
A Modular Approach
At CODE24, we believe healthcare organisations should retain control over how their IT landscape is structured, rather than having those decisions dictated by software suppliers. That is why our own EHR, mConsole, is built from modular components that can be easily integrated with EHR systems from other vendors. Lab24 is one such building block. It can be used as part of mConsole or as a standalone subsystem connected to virtually any EHR.
To address these challenges effectively, organisations need a straightforward user experience supported by sufficient flexibility behind the scenes. It is therefore crucial to engage the laboratories you work with at an early stage, mapping out the required processes together and ensuring all parties share the same objectives. Including this work in your project planning will help prevent delays later in the implementation journey.
Digitalising your laboratory ordering process is not only about improving efficiency – it is also an opportunity to strengthen security. Many healthcare organisations still rely on paper-based laboratory request forms. Besides slowing down the process and creating additional administrative work, paper forms increase the risk of data breaches and human error. Forms can be misplaced, left on the wrong desk or accessed by unauthorised individuals. Maintaining oversight of who has viewed sensitive information is practically impossible. Although paper forms cannot always be eliminated entirely, it is advisable to minimise their use wherever possible.
Digitalisation can provide a solution, provided it is implemented correctly. For example, laboratory order and results worklists should only be accessible to authorised staff members who are directly involved in the patient's care or caseload.
It is equally important to consider how healthcare professionals are notified when new results become available. From a security perspective, it is preferable to keep communication within a single system rather than creating multiple copies of data for purposes such as email distribution.
The fewer copies that exist, the greater the control over access, visibility and data changes.
Every healthcare organisation has employees who are particularly comfortable with digital tools – and often more enthusiastic about them as well. These individuals make ideal digital ambassadors or early adopters during implementation and scaling projects. By involving them early, organisations can benefit from valuable practical insights and feedback. They also provide an excellent pilot group for testing new digital processes before wider rollout.
Beyond providing feedback, these early adopters play a crucial role in encouraging colleagues to embrace change. Any organisational change requires effort and often encounters resistance. When early adopters already understand and appreciate the value of the new laboratory ordering process, they can communicate its benefits effectively to their peers. This approach is often far more persuasive than top-down messaging. Adopters bring real-world experience and understand the day-to-day realities of their departments.
A Real-World Example
Dimence Group has been using Lab24 from CODE24 for some time and also worked with a dedicated champion group during implementation. Interested in learning how they experienced the implementation process as a whole?
The collaboration between your organisation and external laboratories can be viewed as the first step in a broader optimisation journey. Consider which other stakeholders could benefit from receiving laboratory results digitally.
On the one hand, this may include other healthcare professionals. For example, a mental health provider may wish to inform a patient's GP about requested investigations, or a hospital may want to share laboratory results with community care teams. Appropriate access controls and authorisation models must, of course, be carefully considered (see Lesson 3). However, when the technical foundations are in place, the possibilities are extensive.
On the other hand, organisations may wish to connect laboratory results to a Personal Health Record (PHR) or patient portal, enabling patients themselves to access and understand their results more easily.
Standardisation Enables Flexibility
When healthcare data is stored using standardised structures, it becomes much easier to facilitate integrations and data exchange. Since its foundation, CODE24 has adopted the international openEHR standard. The use of openEHR is one of the key reasons we are able to keep our solutions highly flexible. Everything is built from reusable components that can be connected and configured as needed.
When it comes to digitalising your organisation's laboratory ordering process, one factor stands above all others:
Thorough preparation.
Fancy a Conversation?
At CODE24, we would be delighted to discuss your organisation's requirements and explore whether Lab24 could be the right fit for your needs.