Case Study
Remembering COVID: Northwest Laboratory Leads the Way with its 24-Hour Commitment for COVID-19 Test Results
January 17, 2025
Many months have passed since the World Health Organization officially declared the global COVID-19 Public Health Emergency was over on May 11, 2023. As life returns to normal, it’s natural for many to move beyond the challenges of the pandemic. Yet, for those in the healthcare industry using diagnostic lab software, it’s equally important to pause, reflect, and carry forward the critical lessons learned to prepare for future infectious disease threats that are surely on the horizon.
Learn More: End of the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) Declaration
At LigoLab, supporting our lab partners during the pandemic was a top priority. We focused on understanding their needs and delivering innovative medical LIS/lab pathology software solutions to help them navigate the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19. From rapidly developing new laboratory information system functions, tools, and workflows to ensuring patient and provider safety, our efforts were guided by collaboration and a shared mission.
Among these efforts was documenting inspiring stories from our partners on the frontlines. One such story features Northwest Laboratory (now Avero Diagnostics) in Bellingham, Washington. Avero earned recognition for its high-volume COVID-19 testing and consistent 24-hour result turnaround, setting a benchmark for efficiency and reliability during the crisis.
As we look back on these milestones and what was documented and written at that time, we honor the resilience of our LIS healthcare industry and recommit to advancing laboratory operations for a healthier future.
Northwest Laboratory quickly established itself as a COVID-19 testing and reporting leader in the early days of the pandemic. As we remember COVID and how it changed how medical labs and patients interacted overnight, let’s look back at a LigoLab Case Study published on November 4, 2020.
Northwest Laboratory: An Innovative Leader in Fast and Accurate COVID-19 Testing and Reporting
Case Study Summary: For COVID-19 testing to be effective, turnaround times must be quick. This is only possible at scale when using robust pathology lab reporting software that integrates and supports the complete life-cycle of a case, from patient self-sign-up and scheduling, through specimen collection and laboratory processing, to report delivery and laboratory billing (lab revenue cycle management).
Highlighted here is how Northwest Laboratory provides testing at 4,000 long-term care facilities in Florida, the Washington State Department of Corrections, and other large contracts. By using LigoLab’s LIS laboratory Information system software as well as the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal, Northwest has been able to process approximately 1.5 million COVID-19 tests since the start of the pandemic with 98 percent of them reported within 24 hours to the patient via email/SMS.
Key elements in improving efficiency (and reducing errors) include: patient self-registration and the assignment of individual QR codes linked to their sample, plus molecular lab software support and integration for batch scanning, plate mapping, rack scanning, and pooled testing methodology.
Case Study from November 4, 2020: If you’re familiar with this blog, you may already understand how big of an impact Northwest Laboratory (Bellingham, Washington) has had in terms of COVID-19 testing in both its local community and nationwide. If you’re new to this blog, I invite you to read the case study below that goes into great detail and recaps how NWL earned a statewide testing contract with the Florida Department of Health in the early days of the pandemic.
The contract called for asymptomatic patient screening to help protect Florida senior citizens living in 4,000 long-term care facilities in the state’s 67 counties.
Learn More: How Our Lab Partner Embraced Innovation and Won a Statewide Testing Contract
Since completing the Florida contract, Northwest Laboratory has continued to serve as a trusted testing partner for several drive-through collection sites in multiple states. It’s also partnered with the Washington State Department of Corrections to manage the testing of the department’s employees and the incarcerated. Additionally, it supports organizational testing for employers, school and university systems, long-term care facilities, the entertainment and production industry, and more.
Learn More: How the Washington State Department of Corrections Manages its COVID-19 Organizational Testing Program
To handle this workload and deliver fast and accurate test results, Northwest Laboratory has leveraged the flexible and comprehensive nature of the LigoLab LIS & RCM Laboratory Informatics Platform, and the streamlined workflow created by the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal.
The results speak for themselves. Over a recently completed 30-day period, Northwest Laboratory processed and reported nearly 180,000 COVID-19 cases. An incredible number made even more impressive when you consider that in over 98 percent of these cases, the results were reported within 24 hours.
“We have a proven workflow for high throughput molecular LIS testing and we’re committed to a turnaround time of 24 hours from the time we receive the specimens,” said Jennifer Bull, Chief Operating Officer at Northwest Laboratory. “You can rely on the result you receive from us.”
TestDirectly is web-based and works seamlessly with any laboratory information system (LIS system). It replaces paper requisitions and time-consuming and error-prone manual order entry with an electronic workflow that supports the complete life-cycle of a case and a specimen, including patient self-registration and scheduling, specimen collection, laboratory processing, report delivery, and lab billing operations.
The portal also frees laboratories from any post-result follow-up because it automatically notifies patients when to check their results, and those same results are also monitored in real-time by public health authorities.
Learn More: Highlighting the Versatility of the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal
How TestDirectly Turns Medical Labs into Direct-to-Consumer Labs
The TestDirectly workflow starts when the patient accesses the TestDirectly home page and creates an account. It continues as the patient orders a test and schedules a collection appointment. After completing the order, the patient receives a QR code that will be used for check-in at the collection site.
Once on-site for the appointment, a simple scan of the QR code marries the patient’s order to the specimen label enabling the patient’s demographics to be automatically printed and attached to the laboratory test kit.
“Thanks to self-registration, we already have the orders when the specimens arrive at our laboratory, so they go straight into processing,” said Bull.
This external TestDirectly efficiency is matched inside the lab by the agile LigoLab platform. That’s because LigoLab’s LIS medical solution can be configured to support time-saving processes like batch scanning, plate mapping, rack scanning, and pooled testing, and it features a built-in interface engine that ties all these processes together.
White Paper: Comparing LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information System Software
Northwest Laboratory is not alone. Many other labs have joined them by switching to LigoLab’s LIS software solution and leveraging the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal. Despite hundreds of thousands of tests processed daily, these partner labs are not only handling the workload, they’re managing it while collectively averaging 30-hour turnaround times.
We’ve learned much about SARS-CoV-2 and how to treat it for better patient outcomes. We’ve learned that testing on a massive scale and fast TestDirectly results time are equally important as we try to understand how prevalent the virus is, and how to blunt its spread. We’ve also learned that to meet the public demand, both manual order entry and follow-up chokepoints must be removed and replaced with innovative new lab pathology software technologies.
By tackling old problems with new and more efficient pathology lab management processes, Northwest Laboratory has become an industry leader and a great example for other laboratories to follow.
Why Choose LigoLab’s LIS System and Lab Billing Solutions?
LigoLab Information System is a nationally recognized LIS company and a leading developer of innovative end-to-end LIS healthcare software solutions.
In Latin, Ligo means “to unite or to connect,” which is exactly what LigoLab flawlessly does for its laboratory clients, providing them with modern lab information system platform technology that automates processes, eliminates human errors, drives efficiency, and helps them become more profitable.
To learn more about LigoLab's all-in-one medical LIS and laboratory revenue cycle management (lab RCM) platform and its customizable modules and supporting engines, contact a LigoLab Product Specialist today.
