Page 42 - 2022 Risk Basics - Surgical Practice

SVMIC Risk Basics: Surgical Practice

individual medical record. The best system for electronically

tracking labs and diagnostics is a system that will alert the
ordering provider or office staff that a test result is outstanding,

or a consultation report has not been received. The alert may

appear in the form of a flag on the EHR home screen or a
message in his/her task box or email. The provider can then

follow up appropriately, which may include asking a staff
member to contact the patient.

Electronic health records should be equipped with an

electronic order tracking system that assists the practice with

tracking labs, diagnostic tests, and other orders. The EHR may
also have an alert or reminder component to assist in tracking

other tasks such as referrals, screenings, and appointments.

Some EHRs interface with labs, imaging centers, hospitals, and
other vendors. In the absence of an interface which allows for

real-time access, ensure manual alerts or reminders are set to
remind the physician of outstanding orders or tasks.

In order to accomplish this, there are different methods which

can be employed. One method is to use a system which allows
the provider and staff to view all of the tests ordered within a

specific timeframe on a single screen. In those systems, the

tests for which no results have been received appear in a
different color font or are highlighted for easy identification.

Another method allows the staff to run a query to obtain a

report of ordered tests that have not yet been received. When
the query is run, the staff is then responsible for investigating

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