Overview
The system comes pre-loaded with a list of the most commonly-ordered lab tests, imaging orders, and referrals. But, for specialty lab orders or anything you want to order that is not pre-loaded, you may need to first add the lab order to your Orders/ Labs database before you can follow the steps below to order it for a particular patient.
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Details
Add an order for a lab or scan by clicking on the plus icon in the upper righthand corner of the Open Orders block or, more commonly, from the Plan block of an open encounter note.
Once you have ordered some labs via the system, it will begin suggesting some "patient favorites" (most common orders for that patient), and "Common Labs/ Scans" (practice-wide most ordered) below the "Run the Following Tests" search bar.
Click on an order from the favorites list to add it, or type in the search bar to search by order title, subtitle, category, generic code, nickname, and/or description using whole or partial words. The system will search the database as you type and list results below.
By default, the system will return results from your preferred short list, which includes any order you have ever added to a patient's chart, along with orders that you have manually added to the list. If there are no matches on your short list, or if you enter a “+” in the search bar, it will instead return all matching entries from the full code set.
- TIP - How to manually edit your preferred short list: type to search for an order that you would like to manually add (or remove) from the short list. Right-click on the order when it appears in the search results list and select "ADMIN: Add/Remove as preferred". A pop up will appear confirming that you have added (or removed) that item from the orders short list.
Add as many orders as you want by continuing to select from the favorites list and/or using the search bar.
You must also specify one or more reasons (diagnostic codes) for the order. If you add the order from an encounter note, any diagnosis in the encounter note when the order is added will automatically appear in the order form. Remove a diagnosis from the form using the [x] button to the left of the diagnosis, add diagnoses using the search box provided, and/or reorder diagnoses.
Edit the Notes to Lab, if desired, or leave default text.