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 business model with advanced diagnostic lab software. By embracing fresh ideas and new revenue streams, and aligning themselves with like-minded laboratory information system (LIS software) vendors, these progressive labs can become direct-to-consumer labs, offering expanded services and enhanced patient care, all while becoming profitable market leaders.

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, does just that. The direct-to-consumer lab testing web portal integrates with all laboratory information systems (it’s LIS software 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. 

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TestDirectly empowers both patients and clinical laboratories. The flexible portal features several laboratory information system functions that support patient and family self-registration and scheduling, capacity management, specimen collection, and sample tracking and processing. 

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

Discover More: A Scalable Solution for Molecular LIS Testing Labs

"TestDirectly" 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.

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The Best Laboratory Information System Vendors Quickly Pivot When Called Upon 

TestDirectly was already in development before the pandemic, and the easy-to-use direct-to-consumer lab testing platform saw rapid adoption in May 2020 when Northwest Laboratory (now Avero Diagnostics) implemented the solution, becoming a direct-to-consumer lab to expand testing capacity and accelerate turnaround times.

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Like most labs at that time, 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. 

With strong leadership and the combined power of TestDirectly and LigoLab’s advanced laboratory information system software, Avero successfully implemented the platform and completed 190,000 direct-to-consumer lab reports— all within 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. 

Discover 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 provide labs with more visibility into patients and open up new revenue opportunities by supporting all forms of diagnostic testing and preventive screening. 

Now that effective vaccines have significantly reduced the demand for COVID-19 testing, forward-thinking labs like Avero are refocusing on other direct-to-consumer lab testing services, including screenings for STIs, UTIs, allergies, and genetic conditions.

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

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.

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

The TestDirectly Home Testing Kit Solution

For clinical laboratory 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 that the web portal supports for the home testing kit workflow.

• 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 Solutions Cover All Laboratory Informatics 

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

White Paper: How LigoLab Delivers CIO-Level Insight Through Real-World Lab Experience

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 LigoLab product expert.

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