Remembering COVID: TestDirectly Simplifies Workflows and Improves Turnaround Times

The COVID-19 pandemic offered powerful lessons in resilience, innovation, and preparedness for medical laboratory information system (LIS) software providers and the clinical and pathology labs they support. Looking ahead, the shared responsibility is to continue prioritizing adaptability, technology advancement, collaboration, and workforce well-being to build on these experiences and strengthen the future of laboratory medicine.

By applying these insights, LIS vendors and laboratory professionals can better navigate future public health challenges while continuing to deliver high-quality patient care.

With that perspective in mind, it's worth reflecting on the experiences of laboratory professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the challenges were immense, the crisis also revealed remarkable resilience, innovation, and lessons that continue to shape the future of laboratory medicine. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on September 8, 2020, and has been updated since.

TestDirectly's Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Innovations

Los Angeles, CA - Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, laboratory directors and managers nationwide have focused on simplifying clinical laboratory management and accelerating test turnaround times to meet the rising demand for COVID-19 direct-to-consumer lab testing.

In response, they explored innovative diagnostic lab software strategies to expand capacity, eliminate testing backlogs, transition away from paper-based requisitions, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen patient follow-up processes.

Discover More: Streamline Laboratory Workflow Management With Customized Lab Reports & Unmatched Client Support

Enabling Fast, Scalable Molecular LIS Testing With TestDirectly

Built for the Moment the Industry Needed It Most

With the launch of LigoLab's TestDirectly web portal, laboratories can confidently address operational challenges, knowing they have a purpose-built solution designed to support their efforts during critical times.

"TestDirectly, our direct-to-consumer lab testing platform, was designed to eliminate barriers that cause reporting delays and free laboratories from the time-intensive burden of manual order entry and case follow-up," said Suren Avunjian, CEO of LigoLab, who noted the LIS company developed and brought TestDirectly to market just as the disruptive effects of COVID-19 began to take shape.

Connecting Every Stakeholder in Real Time

Results are delivered within minutes of instrument release through consumer lab reports, enabling rapid case identification and outbreak prevention for public health officials.

Case Study: Leading Molecular LIS Lab Teams with TestDirectly to Provide State-Wide COVID-19 School Surveillance Testing

TestDirectly and Direct-to-Consumer Labs  

Clinical organizations can rapidly deploy the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal to integrate with existing LIS laboratory information system software, laboratory billing solutions, and testing instruments. Once implemented, it replaces manual processes with a fully electronic clinical lab workflow that begins when a patient self-registers for testing on any computer or mobile device.

From there, the streamlined lab workflow manages every step of the testing lifecycle, including appointment scheduling at collection sites, specimen collection, results reporting, and secure distribution of consumer lab reports. 

This end-to-end efficiency delivers the speed and reliability required for patients, providers, and public health officials to act quickly and help control the spread of infectious disease.

Case Study: How TestDirectly Results Helped DuPage County Create a More Efficient COVID-19 Drive-Through

Eliminating Bottlenecks With a Fully Electronic Clinical Lab Workflow

Removing the Most Common Source of Delays

TestDirectly eliminates data entry from paper requisitions, significantly speeding up processing and reducing errors.

Contactless, Paperless Specimen Collection at Scale

By adopting a fully electronic laboratory workflow that supports remote patient self-registration and contactless, paperless specimen collection, whether drive-through, on-site, or mobile, laboratories can significantly reduce administrative burden and accelerate testing. Specimens arrive pre-associated with electronic orders. This enables staff to scan them directly into the laboratory information system and send them to processing. The result is faster accessioning, fewer data entry errors, shorter turnaround times, and a more efficient testing workflow from collection through reporting. 

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

Rapid Results Delivery With Seamless Patient Access

Once test results are finalized and verified, consumer lab reports are automatically generated within the organization's laboratory information system and immediately delivered to the TestDirectly portal. Patients are then promptly notified when their results are available and can securely review them by logging into the reports section at TestDirectly.com.

Most patients receive their results within 48 hours, providing public health officials with timely data to act swiftly, fostering confidence in outbreak management.

Discover More: What is the Best LIS for Molecular Testing Labs?

A Smarter Way to Collect, Process, and Deliver Test Results

The TestDirectly patient portal integrates with leading laboratory information system (LIS) software platforms, enabling laboratories to digitize the entire testing workflow from registration through results delivery. Eliminating manual order entry reduces transcription errors, accelerates accessioning, and removes one of the laboratory's most time-consuming operational bottlenecks.

Built to support both drive-through and on-site specimen collection, TestDirectly streamlines patient registration, specimen collection, and result reporting while simplifying follow-up communications. The result is greater testing capacity, faster turnaround times, improved data accuracy, and a more efficient experience for both laboratory staff and patients.

Product Overview: Highlighting the Versatility of the TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing Portal‍‍‍

Innovative and Scalable LIS Software Solutions

Derived from the Latin word ligo, meaning "to unite", LigoLab has brought unity to the operations of hundreds of laboratory customers nationwide. The enterprise company delivers a comprehensive, all-in-one medical LIS and laboratory billing informatics platform that seamlessly integrates anatomic pathology, clinical laboratory, molecular diagnostics, and laboratory revenue cycle management modules on a single, unified lab organization software infrastructure.

Discover More: Clinical Laboratory Management Solutions for Lab Revenue Cycle Management (Lab RCM)

End-to-End Data Integrity With a True Lab Information System Partner

With LigoLab, customers gain complete end-to-end data integrity and a trusted clinical and pathology lab management partner that assumes full responsibility for all LIS software needs, eliminating synchronization issues, middleware dependencies, vendor finger-pointing, and unnecessary complexity.

Transitioning away from a legacy or outdated laboratory information system is a significant decision. LigoLab simplifies that transition by delivering a future-ready LIS software platform that supports the entire specimen lifecycle, aligns pricing with laboratory growth objectives, and minimizes operational disruption during implementation.

One platform. One database. One trusted partner.

Discover More: LigoLab Informatics Platform - Uniquely Designed to Deliver Maximum Value

Ready to Unite Your Lab Operations? 

See how LigoLab unites operational and lab billing workflows into a single, future-ready LIS software informatics platform.

Act Now: Speak with a LigoLab Product Specialist!

Frequently Asked Questions About TestDirectly, Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing for COVID-19, and Direct-to-Consumer Labs

What is TestDirectly, and what problem was it designed to solve?

TestDirectly is LigoLab's direct-to-consumer lab testing portal, developed specifically to eliminate the manual order entry and case follow-up bottlenecks that slow laboratory operations and cause reporting delays. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was designed to help labs rapidly scale direct-to-consumer lab testing by replacing paper-based requisitions with a fully electronic workflow, from patient self-registration through specimen collection, processing, results reporting, and secure result delivery.

How does TestDirectly integrate with existing LIS laboratory information system software?

TestDirectly can be rapidly deployed to integrate with existing laboratory information system software, laboratory billing solutions, and testing instruments. Once implemented, the portal is interoperable within the lab's current infrastructure, feeding patient registration data directly into the LIS workflow so specimens arrive pre-associated with electronic orders. This eliminates the manual data entry step, one of the most common sources of errors and delays in high-volume testing environments.

How does TestDirectly help labs eliminate testing bottlenecks during high-volume events?

TestDirectly removes the most common operational bottleneck in high-volume testing, the manual transcription of patient information from paper requisitions into LIS software. By enabling patients to self-register electronically on any computer or mobile device before arriving at the collection site, specimens arrive at the lab already linked to complete electronic orders. Staff can scan them immediately and move them directly into processing, dramatically accelerating turnaround times without increasing staffing requirements.

How quickly do patients receive results through the TestDirectly portal?

From specimen collection through final reporting, most patients receive their COVID-19 and other test results within 48 hours. Once results are finalized and verified within the lab's LIS system, consumer lab reports are automatically generated and immediately delivered to the TestDirectly portal. Patients are notified via email or SMS when their results are available for secure review at TestDirectly.com.

What stakeholders can access testing data through TestDirectly's administrative portals?

TestDirectly's administrative portals provide secure, real-time access to test results and prevalence data for multiple stakeholder groups, including laboratories, collection centers, government agencies, employers, and physicians. This visibility enables rapid isolation of positive cases. It supports effective public health response, enabling officials to act immediately when positive results are identified rather than waiting for manual reporting processes to run their course.

What types of specimen collection workflows does TestDirectly support?

TestDirectly supports a wide range of collection workflows, including drive-through testing sites, walk-up and on-site collection centers, dispatched specimen collection, mobile testing units, and at-home test kit registration. The platform's flexibility makes it suitable for large-scale public health surveillance programs and employer and school testing initiatives, adapting to the specific operational model of each laboratory partner.

How does the COVID-19 pandemic experience with TestDirectly apply to future public health challenges?

The lessons from deploying TestDirectly during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that organizations with fully electronic, integrated direct-to-consumer lab testing workflows can scale capacity rapidly without proportional increases in staff or manual processes. This capability, including patient self-registration, electronic order creation, automated reporting, and real-time results monitoring, is directly transferable to future infectious disease outbreaks, public health surveillance programs, and any scenario requiring fast, scalable, accurate diagnostic testing.