Over recent years, we have been working with all our community practices and providers to transition them across to Pathlab's eOrdering system for requesting laboratory orders. On reviewing the current usage, we note that many practices have a practice management system (PMS) capable of accessing the Pathlab eOrdering system.
There are, however, some practices/providers who have not transitioned to the new system, resulting in Pathlab having to run ‘dual’ systems to cater for providers who continue to use their own PMS laboratory forms or emails. Operationally, running two simultaneous ordering system is resource heavy and more prone to error.
Some providers have partially adopted Pathlab's éclair ordering system, however they are doing so only for the purpose of checking results (not for ordering), which is not the intended purpose for this system. While we acknowledge it as a beneficial byproduct of éclair eOrdering, neither patients nor providers, are gaining the full benefits of using the full automated system, namely:
The quality of test request information being passed from the Practice Management System to the Pathlab Éclair eOrdering system, including demographic check between PMS and laboratory.
No data entry errors generated by the laboratory (electronic process minimizes the manual registration of forms), resulting in less recollects, and less patient stress.
Up to date specimen collection information which is printed on the laboratory form.
The ability to review recent results while placing the order. This shows NOT ONLY your requests but all other requests from other clinicians – e.g., Accident and Medical clinics, Hospital clinics etc (except for Waikato Hospital) for the Eastern and Western BOP, Waikato, Rotorua, and Taupo regions.
Ability to place orders during virtual consults meaning the patient can present at any Pathlab collection room to have their samples collected.
Moving forward, all practices/providers will need to transition to the eOrdering process. Outside of exceptional circumstances, we will not be accepting orders placed via email, fax, or alternative PMS systems after 1st March 2024. A member of our team will be reaching out to you in the coming weeks to discuss how we support you to make the transition. We are happy to arrange for one of our IT team to visit your practice to review and address your specific needs.
While we understand change can be challenging for some to manage, this transition is necessary to fulfil our unwavering commitment to the pursuit of equity and consumer driven service excellence.