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One of the most valued home care services is the ability to collect blood samples at the patient’s home and have them tested at a laboratory. The patient does not need to travel to a clinic. The nurse or lab technician does everything at home. This page explains how blood tests are ordered, tracked, and reported through the system.

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Before You Start

  • Lab Test Templates must be set up for each type of test your service offers.
  • You need the Healthcare Practitioner role to order a blood test.
  • A Laboratory User role is needed to enter test results.
  • A LabTest Approver role is needed to approve results before they are shared with the patient.

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Setting Up Lab Test Templates

The administrator sets up a template for each type of blood test you offer.
  1. Go to Home Care workspace (or Healthcare workspace) → Laboratory Setup section → Lab Test Template → New
The system currently has one template set up:
  • Blood level test - in the Laboratory item group
You can add more as needed for common home care tests like:
  • Blood Glucose (Fasting)
  • Full Blood Count (CBC)
  • HbA1c (3-month average blood sugar for diabetics)
  • Kidney Function Test (Urea, Creatinine, Electrolytes)
  • Thyroid Function Test (TSH)
  • Liver Function Test
  • Lipid Profile (Cholesterol)
  • Complete Urine Analysis

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Step 1: Ordering a Blood Test

A doctor orders a blood test during a home visit (from within the Patient Encounter).
  1. Open the Patient Encounter
  2. Go to the Service Requests or Investigations section
  3. Click Add and select the test template
  4. Save the encounter
This creates a Service Request (the order) and a Lab Test record in the system. Alternatively, order directly:
  1. Go to Home Care workspace → Orders section → Service Request → New
  2. Link to the patient and select the template
  3. Save
Service Request record showing patient name, test type (Blood level test), ordering practitioner, and requested date

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Step 2: Scheduling the Sample Collection

Once the blood test is ordered, a lab technician needs to be scheduled to visit the patient and collect the sample. Option A: Same Visit If the lab technician is the same person doing the home visit, they collect the sample during the same appointment and take it to the lab. Option B: Separate Lab Collection Visit If a separate lab technician does the collection:
  1. Book a new Patient Appointment for the collection visit
  2. Assign the lab technician as the practitioner
  3. Link the appointment to the lab test order in the notes
The lab technician visits the patient, collects the blood sample following standard collection protocols (sterile needle, correct collection tubes, labelled clearly with the patient’s name and date), and transports the sample to the laboratory.

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Step 3: Entering the Results

When the laboratory processes the sample and sends back the results:
  1. Open the Lab Test record (from the patient record, or by searching for the patient’s name in the Lab Test list)
  2. Enter the result values in the results section
  3. Save the record

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Step 4: Approving the Results

Before the result can be shared with the patient (printed or sent by SMS), a clinician must review and approve it.
  1. The user with the LabTest Approver role opens the Lab Test record
  2. Reviews each result and considers its clinical significance
  3. Clicks Approve in the record
After approval:
  • The result status changes to Approved
  • An SMS is automatically sent to the patient: “Your blood test result from [Company Name] is ready. Your doctor will discuss the findings at your next visit.”
Why approval is required: Releasing blood test results to a patient without clinical review can cause unnecessary alarm or confusion. The approval step ensures a clinician has looked at the results and is prepared to discuss them with the patient.

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Step 5: Discussing Results with the Patient

At the next home visit, the doctor:
  1. Opens the Lab Test record and reviews the approved results
  2. Discusses the findings with the patient in plain language
  3. Documents the patient’s response and any changes to treatment in the visit record
For example:
  • “Your blood sugar this month is 8.2 mmol/L. That is a little high. We will increase your metformin to twice daily and check again in 4 weeks.”
  • “Your kidney function is normal. Keep drinking water and continue the same medicines.”

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Common Home Care Blood Tests and What They Show

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Field Guide: Lab Test

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Best Practices

  • Always link the blood test order to the Patient Encounter where it was requested so the visit record is complete
  • For diabetic patients, always order HbA1c (3-month sugar average) alongside the monthly fasting glucose check - a single glucose reading can be misleading, but HbA1c shows the longer-term trend
  • For patients on Warfarin, INR results need to be checked regularly (usually monthly) and the result reviewed by the doctor before any invasive procedure is done at the patient’s home
  • Never share a result with the patient before it has been approved by the clinician - even if the patient asks, explain that the doctor needs to review it first

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Troubleshooting

The blood test result is not appearing in the patient’s history timeline The Lab Test may still be in Draft or Submitted status but not yet Approved. Only Approved lab tests appear in the patient portal and history timeline. The lab technician collected the wrong sample (wrong tube) Contact the laboratory immediately. A new collection may be needed. Note the error in the Lab Test record as a comment and reschedule the collection. The patient says they were not told their result was ready Check that the patient’s mobile number is correct on their Patient record, and check that Lab Test Approval Notification is enabled in Care Settings.