Laboratories are critical to healthcare, handling hundreds of investigations daily. However, managing such a high volume of investigations presents various challenges, particularly in terms of tracking investigation statuses, which can lead to inefficiencies, communication gaps, and delays in diagnosis.
Common Challenges in Laboratory Management:
- Difficulty in Tracking Investigation Progress: Laboratories often struggle with tracking the status of investigations in real-time. Without a comprehensive status screen, knowing which tests are in progress, completed, or pending is difficult, leading to delays.
- Departmental Overload: Multiple departments such as biochemistry, hematology, and pathology handle investigations, and without an organized system, lab managers may find it hard to monitor each department’s workload.
- Test-by-Test Monitoring: Keeping track of investigations on an individual test basis is another challenge. Often, labs find it difficult to manage the workflow for every test performed, leading to potential delays in patient results.
- Fragmented Communication: When test statuses are scattered across different platforms or not easily accessible, communication between departments, doctors, and patients breaks down, causing operational inefficiencies.
- Handling B2B and B2C Patients: In hospitals dealing with B2B clients (e.g., corporate health packages), managing and keeping a separate tab for these patients further complicates the process of tracking investigation statuses.
MocDoc’s Investigation Status Feature: A Comprehensive Solution
To address these pressing challenges, MocDoc’s Investigation Status Screen offers a structured, easy-to-navigate system that allows laboratories to track investigations efficiently. This feature is divided into three screens—Patient-wise Status, Department-wise Status, and Test-wise Status—each offering unique insights to help labs streamline their workflow.
1. Patient-wise Status Screen
The Patient-wise Status Screen offers a holistic view of each patient's investigations, showing:
- Patient Information: Serial number, patient ID, and referral doctor details make identifying cases easier.
- Investigation Status Columns: Categories like Billed, Paid, Processing, Completed, and more provide real-time updates on each investigation.
In this screen, lab staff can easily click on any investigation status (e.g., processing) and see the tests associated with that status. For instance, if a patient has five tests, and three are completed while two are processing, the system will show a “Partially Completed” status, making follow-ups simple and intuitive. This helps labs maintain a real-time grasp on the investigation process.
2. Department-wise Status Screen
In many labs, departments operate semi-independently, leading to unbalanced workloads. The Department-wise Status Screen solves this by:
- Displaying department columns like Biochemistry, Hematology, and Pathology.
- Offering color-coded statuses: Green for completed investigations, Yellow for partially completed, Red for pending investigations.
This helps department heads and managers see where bottlenecks are happening and enables them to allocate resources more efficiently.
3. Test-wise Status Screen
When tracking the progress of specific tests, the Test-wise Status Screen comes into play. It shows the investigation statuses of tests across the board, independent of the patient or department. This is useful for monitoring high-volume tests and ensuring they don’t get stuck in any stage of the workflow.
By categorizing each test as Billed, Paid, Processing, etc., the system offers an efficient way to manage multiple tests in parallel, ensuring timely results and more consistent performance.
Key Benefits of MocDoc’s Investigation Status Feature:
- Improved Operational Efficiency: Whether through patient-wise, department-wise, or test-wise status tracking, the status screen enables labs to keep an eye on investigations at all stages, thus reducing delays and enhancing operational efficiency.
- Real-Time Tracking: The ability to click on a specific status, view investigation details, and understand where delays might occur ensures that staff can address bottlenecks in real time.
- Color-coded Alerts: The color-coded system in the department-wise screen (green, yellow, red) gives immediate insight into the status of each department, aiding quick decision-making.
- B2B Compatibility: For labs handling corporate clients, MocDoc allows the provider column to display the corporate name. This makes tracking investigations for B2B patients simpler and more organized.
- Transparency and Communication: The detailed statuses enhance transparency and streamline communication between the lab and physicians, helping doctors provide faster and more accurate diagnoses.
Conclusion:
Laboratory management can often be a logistical nightmare without the proper tools to keep track of investigations. Delays in diagnostics and communication gaps can hinder the entire healthcare process. MocDoc’s Investigation Status Feature directly addresses these challenges by providing real-time tracking of investigations at patient, department, and test levels. The system’s ability to streamline tracking across multiple dimensions not only enhances the lab’s performance but also ensures better healthcare outcomes by ensuring tests are processed efficiently and accurately.