In healthcare, nobody has time to spare. To make processes run more smoothly, organisations often look towards smart digitalisation. Yet there are still processes that consume unnecessary time and budget every single day without receiving the urgency they deserve. One example is the manual process surrounding laboratory test requests.
Completing paper forms, retyping information, collecting envelopes sent by post… individually, these may seem like minor tasks, but together they add up significantly. Moreover, digitalisation does not only improve efficiency; in the right hands, it can also generate valuable insights that help drive healthcare forward.
the cost of human error
Where busy staff members are required to carry out countless manual actions, mistakes are inevitable. Illegible handwriting, a forgotten tick box, or a typing error when transferring information… all of these can lead to additional administrative burdens and unnecessary costs.
The figures speak for themselves. Research by James A. Mays and Patrick C. Mathias, entitled “Measuring the rate of manual transcription error in outpatient point-of-care testing”, found that in as many as 74% of manually entered cases, the interpretation of results (the so-called ‘flags’) differed from the assessment recorded in the LIMS. In addition, within a dataset of 6,930 measurements, 260 errors were identified in manually transcribed data. Of those 260 cases, 37 contained clinically significant errors that could potentially compromise patient safety. Digitalising the laboratory request process therefore offers not only gains in efficiency, but potentially significant improvements in patient safety as well.
Furthermore, when errors occur, repeat testing may be required. This leads not only to additional costs, but also places extra strain on both healthcare staff and patients.
loss of time
The administrative burden within Dutch healthcare remains high. In November 2025, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) published new figures showing that healthcare professionals spend an average of 31% of their time on administration. In addition, 50% of employees who spend above-average amounts of time on administrative work also report experiencing high levels of workload pressure.
The manual creation and processing of paper laboratory request forms clearly does little to improve this situation. With a digital solution such as Lab24, the process becomes far more streamlined – requests are created directly from the patient record, the status of each request is fully visible (saving valuable time otherwise spent calling laboratories), and results are returned neatly within Lab24 itself.
without data, you are flying blind
What you do not measure, you cannot manage. With manual requests, there is no real-time insight available. Which diagnostics are requested most frequently? What is the turnaround time from sample collection to result? Where are the bottlenecks within the logistical workflow?
Without structured data, information management remains limited to firefighting. Digitalisation through Lab24 creates a rich stream of data, which can then be further optimised for analysis through solutions such as DataWarehouse24.
Lab24: Taking Control of the Laboratory Ordering Process
The outcome? Fewer high-risk errors, reduced pressure on healthcare staff, and an information infrastructure that management can genuinely use to steer operations effectively. In short, the question is not whether you will digitalise the laboratory process, but when. Because we can surely agree that paper forms no longer belong in modern healthcare.
Curious about how your organisation can transition to digital laboratory ordering?
We would be delighted to hear from you. Shall we arrange a short demonstration to explore how Lab24 integrates seamlessly with your existing ECD or EHR environment?