Labelling and sending samples to the laboratory

Once the samples are collected, the order page shows what is left to do, in order: Collect, Label, Package, Send and Results. This guide covers the middle three.

Label

Choose Print sample label. The label carries the order’s barcode, which is the order’s own number. It is printed once for each sample on the order, so every tube or container belongs plainly to the one order. There is no separate barcode to look up or match.

Package

The order shows the partner laboratory’s address and its packaging and dispatch instructions. Package the samples as it asks. Where the laboratory has provided a “what happens next” video, it plays on the order.

Send

Send the samples, then choose Mark as dispatched on the order and confirm. Marking samples as sent records that they have left your clinic. It does not mean the laboratory has them: the order shows that separately, when the laboratory confirms receipt.

Reminders

If samples have been collected but not marked as sent, the team members who handle samples are emailed: two hours after collection and again at six hours. For samples that keep for a shorter time, the reminders come sooner. They stop as soon as the samples are marked as sent, the laboratory has them, or the order is cancelled.

Cancelling an order

An order can be cancelled from the clinic until the laboratory has it, may have it, or the samples have been marked as sent. After that, the laboratory has to be told directly.

Results

The order shows when the laboratory receives the samples, and the results arrive on the order when the laboratory reports them. See how results reach your patients.