How to Manage Patient Lab Cases

Related Training
Lab Cases Recorded Class

When an active lab case exists for the patient, a flask icon is displayed on the Appointment Tile as well as the Patient Home screen, Minicard, and related patient interfaces, along with the number of lab cases and the status by color: Red for outstanding, and green for received.

• View and manage lab cases from multiple locations where the flask icon is displayed.
• On an appointment tile, hover your cursor over the flask icon to display a description.
• Click the flask icon to edit, remove, or update the status.
• Create new lab cases from the Clinical screens or Treatment Plan.
• Use the Lab Case Management worklist (Location > To Do) to track and manage open lab cases for your location, update the status, or reopen a closed case.

Creating a Patient Lab Case

Important: Labs must be entered into Practice Settings before you can create patient lab cases. For more information, see How to Enter Lab Information. 

The Create New Lab Case option is available under Actions on the Hard Tissue Chart (US)/Dental Chart (UK), Clinical Chart/EMR, Treatment Plan, Orthodontic Clinical Summary, and Aligner/Mechanics Tracking.

You can also create a new case when using the Lab Case Management worklist, as described below. 

To enter a patient lab case:

1. From the Patient tab, select one of the aforementioned screens.
2. Under Actions, select Create Lab Case. The Create New Lab Case window is displayed.
   
3. Use the Associated Lab field to select from the list of labs used by your practice.
4. Enter a Description for the lab case, and the Expected Date of delivery. The Status defaults to Lab Not Ready. 
   Note: You can edit the status to Received (green) from other locations when the lab case is returned.
5. Click Create. The lab case is added to the Lab Case Management worklist, and the flask icon is automatically activated/updated throughout the patient interfaces.

Using the Lab Case Management Worklist

Use this worklist to view and update lab cases for your location, mark cases as received or closed, and create new lab cases if needed. You can filter the list by patient, lab, or expected delivery date. You can also hide closed lab cases so that only active cases are displayed.

To use the worklist:

1. From the Location tab, select To Do > Lab Case Management. The Lab Case Management window is displayed.
2. Use the filters to refine the list as needed, or click the column headings to sort the list.
3. Select an item to display the details.
   
4. From here you can:
   - Select Update Lab Case to display the Update window and edit the details.
   - Select Close Lab Case to mark it as closed.
   - Select Mark As Received to indicate it has been received from the lab, but not delivered to the patient. This option turns the flask icon green and updates the Expected Date column to Received, along with the date received.
   Note: If there are multiple lab cases for a line item, click the flask icon and then use the icons to update an individual item. You can toggle the circle and checkmark to change the status (expected/received) as needed.
   

Create a New Lab Case

To create a new lab case from the worklist:

1. Under Actions, select Create New Lab Case. You are prompted to search for and select a patient.
2. Click View Clinical. The patient's clinical interface is displayed.
3. Under Actions, select Create Lab Case. The Create New Lab Case window is displayed.
4. Use the Associated Lab field to select from the list of labs used by your practice.
5. Enter a Description for the lab case, and the Expected Date of delivery.
6. Click Create. The lab case is added to the Lab Case Management worklist, and the flask icon is automatically activated/updated throughout the patient interfaces.

Reopen a Closed Lab Case

If a lab case was accidentally closed, or needs to be sent back to the lab for corrections, you can reopen it.

To reopen a closed lab case:

1. From the Lab Case Management worklist, deselect the Hide Closed Lab Cases checkbox. Closed lab cases are displayed in the list.
2. Select the lab case you want to reopen, and click Reopen Lab Case.