Lab orders, results and critical flags in one hospital system

Lab work fails when order numbers change between reception, phlebotomy and the analyser. Use a single lab order ID with specimen barcodes derived from that ID. Status should move in a fixed path: ordered, sample collected, in progress, result entered, verified, published (or cancelled).

Doctors and front desk need read access to status without editing results. Result entry and verify or publish permissions belong to lab roles so clinical staff cannot accidentally mark unverified values as final.

When values are entered, evaluate against the test master reference ranges and mark low, high or normal. Critical low and critical high thresholds should override ordinary flags so the row shows a clear critical state. Persist a hasCritical marker on the result for filters and notifications.

Publish is the moment the report becomes patient visible. Critical publish should trigger an inbox event for linked portal accounts and, when consent and policy allow, a WhatsApp alert. Non critical publish can use a quieter patient notification so phones are not flooded.

Published attachments and values must appear on the patient 360 record and in medical history for portal users. Staff should open the same file the patient sees. Separate WhatsApp image dumps without chart storage create audit and continuity gaps.

Diagnostic centres and hospital labs both benefit from masters for test catalogues with codes, fees and ranges maintained by admin. Import and export belong in a data hub, not as one-off spreadsheets on a desktop.