News
LigoLab’s TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal Helps Labs Prevent Lost Revenue
August 5, 2026
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on January 4, 2021, and has been updated since.
Los Angeles, CA - Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical laboratories across the country have been utilizing LigoLab's TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing web portal to streamline clinical lab workflow, eliminate bottlenecks, boost capacity, and improve turnaround times for important diagnostic lab software testing.
Now, these same laboratories can also utilize the innovative direct-to-consumer lab testing portal to prevent lost revenue and combat external threats, including constantly changing payer requirements, increased government regulations, widespread staffing shortages, and rising costs for staffing and supplies.
"TestDirectly is a clinical laboratory management software that creates end-to-end efficiencies and helps labs collect, process, and report test results without delay," said Suren Avunjian, LigoLab's CEO.
"With the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal, patients can not only self-register for their tests and schedule their collection appointments from any mobile device, but they can also upload insurance cards and photo IDs as they complete their orders,” he continued. “ Giving our lab partners the ability to collect this kind of patient data upfront is a major advantage directly tied to successful laboratory revenue cycle management."
Industry Insights: Consumerism and How Clinical Labs Can Take Advantage of a Growing Trend
Preventing Common Laboratory Billing Mistakes
How Uploading Insurance Cards and Photo IDs Reduces Lab Billing Errors
Farzad Abdi, LigoLab's Lab Billing Manager, noted that typing errors are a frequent issue when patients and lab accessioners enter insurance information. Uploading insurance cards and photo IDs directly into the TestDirectly application offers a simple and effective way to prevent these mistakes.
"If there’s an issue with eligibility or the subscriber ID, the lab billing department will first check the attached documents," said Abdi. "If the insurance card and patient ID are attached, it's easy to identify and correct any typo."
Discover More: Is Your Lab RCM Software Vendor Putting Your Needs First?
Protecting Patients From Surprise Bills
Abdi further explained that when eligibility does not return as active, it’s most often because staff entered patient demographics or insurance information incorrectly. He also noted that it’s in the patients' best interest to use the TestDirectly portal to upload insurance and IDs to avoid unexpected bills.
"If the laboratory can't verify the insurance, it typically calls the doctor and the patient. If the doctor and patient aren't available, the patient will end up with the bill," said Abdi. "Including an insurance card and photo ID with a test order makes it a headache-free experience for the patient and the laboratory."
Discover More: Highlighting the Versatility of the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal
How TestDirectly Supports Laboratory Information System Software and Laboratory Billing Workflows
TestDirectly is a web-based direct-to-consumer lab testing portal that enhances patient access while unlocking valuable new revenue streams for laboratories and collection facilities.
A Fully Digital End-to-End Clinical Lab Workflow
Seamlessly integrating with all leading laboratory information systems (LIS) software) and laboratory revenue cycle management (lab billing) solutions, TestDirectly replaces paper requisitions, manual tasks, and data entry errors with a fully digital, end-to-end clinical lab workflow that supports the entire specimen lifecycle.
Discover More: Transforming Patient Care - The Power of Laboratory Information Systems (LIS Systems) in Healthcare
Full Lifecycle Support From Registration Through Results
The TestDirectly platform supports capabilities including patient self-registration, appointment scheduling, specimen collection (including drive-through, walk-up, concierge, employer, organizational, and at-home testing), laboratory processing, delivery of consumer lab reports, and laboratory billing operations.
Once finalized, consumer lab reports are automatically delivered from the lab information system to the direct-to-consumer lab testing portal, and patients are then notified via email or SMS when their diagnostic test results are ready.
Discover More: Expand Laboratory Services to the Home and Improve Patient Engagement with New Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Business Models
LigoLab's All-in-One Medical LIS, Lab RCM, and Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Platform
TestDirectly is the latest addition to LigoLab’s all-in-one Medical LIS & Lab RCM Informatics Platform, a comprehensive clinical and pathology lab software solution featuring highly customizable modules for anatomic pathology, clinical laboratory, molecular diagnostics, and lab revenue cycle management.
One Database. No Data Silos.
All modules are connected via a single medical LIS software infrastructure that eliminates data silos and inconsistent data, bringing standardization and simplicity to what would otherwise be complex laboratory workflow management processes.
On-Demand Webinar: Unifying Technical and Financial Operations to Minimize Denials and Prevent Revenue Leakage
Laboratory Revenue Cycle Management That Starts at Order Entry
With LigoLab's fully integrated diagnostic laboratory informatics platform, clinical laboratories and pathology groups benefit from a unified laboratory information system and laboratory revenue cycle management solution featuring real-time eligibility verification, claim scrubbing, and intelligent billing automation.
By initiating the RCM cycle at order entry, laboratories achieve higher first-pass clean claim rates, reduce denials, accelerate reimbursement, and improve operational efficiency, revenue performance, and long-term profitability.
LigoLab's Tiered Pricing for Its Medical LIS Software and Laboratory Billing Solutions
To make its innovative medical LIS software and laboratory billing solutions accessible to clinical labs and pathology groups of all sizes and complexities, LigoLab has introduced its tiered pricing model.
This updated LIS model for pricing addresses the industry's long-standing frustration with one-size-fits-all clinical and pathology lab reporting software, offering tailored solutions that align with each lab's unique needs and growth stage.
With tiered options for both the LIS system and lab revenue cycle management modules, lab businesses can select the level of functionality that best fits their current operations while maintaining the flexibility to scale seamlessly as their requirements expand.
LigoLab's approach empowers labs to modernize processes, improve scalability, and confidently plan for future growth without the disruption of switching to a new lab information system.
Discover More: LigoLab’s Enterprise Tier - The Ultimate LIS Software Solution for High-Volume, High-Complexity Labs
Recommended White Papers
Linked below are two White Papers that should interest you and your colleagues.
For those who would like to read more about LigoLab and its future-ready diagnostic lab software offerings, the following white papers are available for download:
- White Paper: Comparing LigoLab Informatics Platform with Legacy Laboratory Information System Software
- White Paper: Maximizing Your Lab’s Profitability - The Case for In-House Lab Billing
Expand Your Lab's Reach With TestDirectly
Streamline direct-to-consumer lab testing, boost patient access, and unlock new revenue streams with the TestDirectly portal. Fully integrated. HIPAA-compliant. Built for modern direct-to-consumer labs.
Book a customized software demo today and see the TestDirectly platform in action.
Don’t Delay: Speak with a TestDirectly Product Specialist
Frequently Asked Questions About TestDirectly and Lab Revenue Protection
How does TestDirectly help labs prevent lost revenue from billing errors?
TestDirectly empowers patients to upload their insurance cards and photo IDs directly during the self-registration process, before the order is ever created. This gives lab billing departments accurate, verifiable source documents to reference when eligibility issues arise. Rather than relying on manually entered data that is prone to typos and transcription errors, the billing team can immediately cross-reference the uploaded documents to identify and correct discrepancies, preventing the eligibility failures and denials that commonly result from incorrect subscriber IDs or demographic mismatches.
What is the most common cause of failed insurance eligibility checks, and how does TestDirectly address it?
According to LigoLab Lab Billing Manager Farzad Abdi, the most common cause of failed eligibility returns is incorrect patient demographics or insurance information, often due to typographical errors during manual data entry. TestDirectly addresses this by enabling patients to upload their insurance cards and photo IDs as part of the digital self-registration process, providing the lab billing team with accurate source documents for verification and correction and eliminating reliance on error-prone manual entry.
How does uploading insurance and ID documents protect patients from surprise bills?
When a laboratory cannot verify insurance eligibility, it typically attempts to reach the ordering physician and the patient to resolve the issue. If neither is available, the patient often ends up being billed directly for the full cost of the test. By uploading insurance and photo ID at registration, patients provide the lab with verification upfront, preventing billing delays, unexpected charges, and frustrating follow-up calls that result from missing or incorrect insurance information.
How does TestDirectly integrate with existing LIS systems and lab billing platforms?
TestDirectly is designed as a vendor-neutral, web-based platform that integrates seamlessly with all laboratory information system software and lab revenue cycle management solutions. It feeds patient registration data, including uploaded insurance documents and demographic information, directly into the lab's existing LIS medical workflow, enabling the RCM cycle to begin at order entry rather than after case finalization. This integration eliminates paper requisitions, reduces manual data entry, and creates a fully digital clinical lab workflow from self-registration through result delivery and billing.
What collection types and testing scenarios does TestDirectly support?
TestDirectly supports a comprehensive range of specimen collection methods, including drive-through collection sites, walk-up and on-site testing centers, concierge at-home collection, employer and organizational testing programs, and mailed at-home test kit workflows. Patient results are automatically delivered through the portal (with email and SMS notifications), and consumer lab reports are generated and distributed directly from the lab information system without requiring manual follow-up from lab staff.
Why is starting the laboratory billing cycle at order entry such a significant financial advantage?
Starting the RCM cycle at order entry, rather than after a case is finalized and reported, enables labs to apply eligibility verification, demographic validation, insurance discovery, and claim scrubbing when patient information is first captured. This front-end approach catches and corrects billing errors before they become denials, maximizes the percentage of claims paid on the first submission, and dramatically reduces the volume of rework that consumes in-house billing staff time. Labs that make this shift consistently see significant improvements in clean claim rates, days in accounts receivable, and overall net collections.
How does LigoLab's tiered pricing model make TestDirectly and the LIS platform more accessible?
LigoLab's tiered pricing model enables labs to select the combination of LIS system and lab revenue cycle management functionality that aligns with their current operational complexity and budget, without paying for features they do not yet need or being locked into a one-size-fits-all platform. As the lab grows and testing volume increases, it can scale to a higher tier seamlessly (without switching LIS systems). This eliminates the large upfront capital commitments of legacy LIS vendors, ensuring labs of all sizes, from emerging direct-to-consumer testing operations to large multi-site reference labs, can access enterprise-grade informatics capabilities.
