When an electronic result is received via an interface, the application attempts to match the result received to both the correct patient and the original that the result should be tied to. There are 3 key possible outcomes that may happen when attempting to make this connection.
Successful Patient and Requisition Match
Two key values must be supplied within the electronic result file: the patient ID (a unique identifier for the patient) and a requisition ID (a unique identifier for the set of orders created). Both of these values are found in the order that is created. For interfaces that are bi-directional, these two values are transmitted electronically in the order file. For interfaces that are not bi-directional, these two values can be found on the printed paper requisition.
Therefore, when a result is received and the patient ID and Requisition ID both match a patient and requisition in the application, the result is automatically linked to that order and that patient. The result is then auto-assigned to the person that placed the order. These results can be found in the users My Tasks - Results queue for review.
Successful Patient Match, but no Requisition Match
In the event a requisition ID is not supplied or the requisition ID is incorrect, then the application is unable to automatically link the result back to the original order. However, the application will still attempt to at least link the result to the correct patient. Because of the possibility that the Patient ID could be incorrect, we no longer rely solely on that value to link the result to the patient. In these circumstances, the application will use the First Name, Last Name, and Date of Birth supplied in the result file to attempt to match on. If the application finds 1 and only 1 patient with the same first name, last name, and date of birth, then the result will be linked to that patient and new orders will be auto-created based on the orders found within the result file. These results will be assigned to the processing group Unsolicited Results. Your practice should have one-to-many users assigned to this user group. Once received, your team should decide which user in the practice is responsible for reviewing that result and assign that result to that user by changing the processor.
Unsuccessful Patient Match and No Rrequistion Match
As described above, the application will attempt to link a result to a patient based on the first name, last name, and date of birth supplied in the result file. If no patients or more than one patient in the system match the data provided, the application will not link the result to the patient. In these circumstances, a member of your practice will be responsible for both linking the result to the correct patient and assigning the result to the correct processor to review.
If you accidentally link the result to the incorrect patient, you can follow these steps to remove that result: How do I remove a result linked to the wrong patient?
