Expand Laboratory Services to the Home and Improve Patient Engagement with New Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Business Models

The rapid adoption of digital technologies and the growth of patient consumerism are two trends in healthcare that are here to stay, and experts believe the coronavirus pandemic accelerated this trend by three to five years.

This is welcome news for medical laboratories willing to break away from the traditional way of doing business with diagnostic lab software. By embracing fresh ideas and new revenue streams, and aligning themselves with like-minded LIS laboratory information system (LIS system) vendors, these progressive labs can become direct-to-consumer labs, offering expanded services and ultimately improved patient care, all while becoming market leaders and more profitable.

Patients are increasingly becoming more active participants in their healthcare, so labs must adapt by becoming direct-to-consumer labs and offering lab testing that’s easy for patients to access. 

TestDirectly (TestDirectly.com), one of several LIS pathology solutions developed by LigoLab Information Systems, does just that. The direct-to-consumer lab testing web portal integrates with all lab information systems (it’s LIS system neutral) and simplifies the testing and reporting of collected specimen samples. It does this by replacing paper forms and mostly manual processes with an electronic clinical lab workflow that eliminates the potential for human errors, order entry bottlenecks, and reporting delays. 

Case Study: How Atlas Genomics Supported the Tahoma School District’s COVID-19 Testing Program and How Other Clinical Laboratories Can Follow Suit

TestDirectly empowers the patient and the testing laboratory. The flexible portal features lightweight laboratory information system functionality, and it supports patient and family self-registration and scheduling, capacity management, specimen collection, and specimen tracking and processing. 

It also covers laboratory billing (lab revenue cycle management; lab RCM), compliance, and automated TestDirectly results time deliveries via email, SMS text, web portal, or interface. The molecular lab testing software even automates reporting to public health departments and state agencies. 

Learn More: A Scalable Solution for Molecular LIS Testing Labs

"Test Directly" is more than just a name for LigoLab's direct-to-consumer lab testing solution, it also represents a transformative moment for laboratory information system companies and medical lab customers.

Learn More: The Best Laboratory Information System Companies and the Advantages They Offer to Their Laboratory Clients

The Best LIS Software is Flexible and the Best LIS System Vendors Quickly Pivot When Called Upon 

TestDirectly was in the early stages of development even before the pandemic hit, and the direct-to-consumer lab testing platform took off in May of 2020 when Northwest Laboratory (now known as Avero Diagnostics) added the LIS lab solution to its operations to quickly boost testing capacity and improve direct-to-consumer lab testing turnaround times. 

Learn More: Not All LIS Systems Are Created Equally

Like most labs back then, Avero needed a streamlined molecular lab software solution to address the order entry and follow-up bottlenecks caused by a rapid increase in SARS-CoV-2 testing demand.

Adding capacity and improving turnaround time (TAT) were critical elements that enabled the lab to secure a contract with the Florida Department of Health. The contract called for COVID-19 baseline testing of the state’s 4,000 long-term care facilities, and direct-to-consumer lab testing included both senior residents and staff. 

Thanks to strong lab leadership and the many advantages gained by using both TestDirectly and LigoLab’s advanced laboratory information system (LIS software), Avero was able to implement the pathology lab management platform and collect, process, and deliver 190,000 consumer lab reports, all in just four weeks. 

Case Study: How Avero Diagnostics Embraced Laboratory Information System Innovation and Won a Statewide Testing Contract

Since those early days of the pandemic, TestDirectly and its network of medical laboratories and collection centers throughout the U.S. have enabled patients to take more control and manage their healthcare in a streamlined and unified way. Just as impressive, those providers have collected, processed, and reported millions of COVID-19 cases. 

Learn More: Highlighting the Versatility of the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal

The original idea behind TestDirectly and TestDirectly.com was to develop a pathology lab software solution for direct-to-consumer lab testing and consumer lab reports. Ideally, the pathology software would give labs more visibility with patients and open up new revenue opportunities by supporting all forms of diagnostic testing and preventive screening. 

Now, thanks to highly effective and readily available vaccines and the demand for COVID-19 testing at a low level, progressive labs like Avero can once again turn their attention to other forms of direct-to-consumer lab testing such as sexually transmitted infections, urinary tract infections, allergies, genetic screenings, and more. 

They can also leverage TestDirectly results time via a new home test kit collection workflow to create the strongest bond with patients to date.

Learn More: LigoLab’s Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal: An Innovative Solution for an Industry-Wide Problem

TestDirectly and TestDirectly.com now support test kit ordering and shipping to patients, the laboratory’s receipt of patient samples after specimen collection, and the automated delivery of consumer lab reports back to the patients.

The TestDirectly Home Testing Kit Solution

For lab management interested in offering patients a convenient and cost-effective way to monitor their health and complete routine disease screening in the privacy of their own homes, TestDirectly offers its Home Testing Kit solution. 

Below is a list of features and direct-to-consumer lab testing functionality.

• Site branding with customized images and verbiage
• The mapping of symptoms to ICD-10 codes
• The customization of “ask on order entry” questions
• The upload of patient documentation (insurance card, photo ID)
• All forms of payment, including credit card
• Email order confirmation
• Order and courier tracking at every stage
• The printing of courier shipping and return labels
• The printing of specimen labels
• Email and SMS text notification of test results
• Downloadable and printable result reports 

For a demonstration of this new molecular lab testing software workflow, CLICK HERE to contact a LigoLab product specialist. 

LigoLab's Complete Pathology Lab Software Solution for All Laboratory Informatics 

With the LigoLab Informatics Platform and TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing solutions, labs gain pathology software that aligns with their business goals and targets their pain points. 

Ready for innovative LIS software solutions that improve operational lab workflow, reduce labor costs, remove barriers to growth, and now efficiently enable direct-to-consumer lab testing? 

If yes contact LigoLab and schedule a brief call with a laboratory information system expert.

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