Lab order form as the name implies is the form used by patients to request the lab technician to take blood, urine, or stool sample to perform the test. These tests are conducted to find if there is an infection or other conditions for disease. The form contains several tests among which the doctor recommends few tests to be conducted based on the patient’s health.
Ok, who requires this? Lab, Doctor, and Patient. Yes, all the three, the patient consult doctor for any specific health discomfort and the physician do a physical examines to find the cause. In case there is any need to confirm about a particular health issue, then the doctor fills the lab order form and asks the patient to get the test done. In turn, the patients reach out to the lab technician and handover the form for necessary action to be taken. Therefore all the three parties are involved in this.
There are times when hospitals directly send the form to the lab online and patients only give their samples. The lab sends the report to the doctor without reaching out to the patient. Either way, this form is vital in every doctor shop to provide proper treatment.
Who will design these forms? Ideally, the lab will make these and distribute to the hospitals, nursing home, and individual doctors. This is one way to promote the business and hence if you are a lab technician or owner looking for lab order forms, then you have clicked the right link.
In this site, we provide you with different types of lab order form which you can download to your PC and personalize. You can then use them online or print and make it a hardcopy. The choice is yours, but rest assured that we don’t charge you a penny to download these templates. Additionally, we have also collected some informative details which will help you understand the right way to use the forms.
With this basic intro let us now start with the details about the structure and the elements of a lab order form.
Contents
Structure and Elements of Lab Order Form
Image Source – Who.intl
Before we move on with the elements of the form, you must know how to structure the form. First things first and also it must be in a sequence letting the doctor find the relevant test at a glance. Therefore understand what needs to be printed first, next, and last.
Heading, patient details, doctor details, sample details part 1, sample details part 2, examination request, additional test if any, date and doctor’s signature. All these elements must be placed one below the other and we suggest making a box for each component to give a legible look. For example, you can mention the patient details as given below.
Open a word document and insert a table like the one shown below and print details.
Patient Information
We will now give a detailed explanation of each element. The above illustration gives you an idea of how a form will look. Alternatively, download one from here to get acquainted with the form. In the event of you plan to design them, this will help you.
Heading – There is no suspense in this section and it is just the name Lab Order Form or Test Request form. Additionally, the name of your lab can be printed.
Patient Details – As already shown in the table above all the information pertaining to the patient must be included here. This will help the doctor and the lab to have an identity. Include as many details required as shown in the sample table above.
Doctor Details – Adjacent to the patient details the doctor details can be printed. The name, registration number, contact number, and address.
Sample Details Part 1 – part 1 and part 2 tables can be constructed parallel and they will contain the following. The primary table will have the details like the urgency of the sample, and the time to take the test. Urgency means whether the tests to be taken immediately or can it wait. Again test time includes the test to be taken before food, after food, fasting etc.
Sample Details Part 2 – Here the mention on the specimen details are given. Whether it is urine, blood, swab, fluid, feces, sputum, or others. All these need not be written by the doctor but it can be printed with a checkbox making it easy for selection as shown below.
Examination Recommended
The above table visibly tells all the possible examination recommended by physicians. There are five major categories namely the profile test, biochemistry, hematology, microbiology, and anatomical pathology. Cervical cytology is usually recommended for a woman as they are prone to cervical cancer. Doctors can make a tick mark to indicate which test is required to be taken.
Additional Test If Any – In spite of the above test suggested, if the doctor wants to suggest any test for the patient, then can make a note of the same in this section. This is usually left blank leaving space for the physician to fill.
Doctor’s Signature with Date – It is mandatory that the doctor sign with the date if it is a physical form. In case of an online form, this step can be skipped as the doctor will send an email from personal id which will authenticate the time as well.
To be filled by the lab
Test Taken Date and time
Signature of the lab in charge
The technician must fill these sections in this form. The detailed report will be printed on a different sheet. However, this detail will help to refer the time and date when the test was taken.
Finally, we would like to wrap the form stating that these are the contents to be present and this is how it must be structured letting the doctor to quickly fill them. Provide a checkbox option wherever possible to save time.
These templates are also called as Dr Office Lab Order Forms Template, Physician Lab Order Form Template. Feel free to download the same template even if it is called with different names. Different countries and even in the same country different regulatory body call it in various names. The purpose of the form is a doctor’s request for the lab’s to conduct a test on a patient to find out a disease condition.
How to Use Customizable Lab Order Forms Template
You will feel confident that the forms are present for you to print and distribute. But, when you want to add, remove, or simply include your lab name, then how will you do it. Follow these steps and you can edit the template. They are customizable indeed.
- Click on the template or download icon and save it to your system.
- Find them from the download folder and double click to open it.
- It will open as a word document and you can click on any section to edit details. Feel free to change the details.
- Click save or Ctrl+s to save the changes.
- Now you can print the form.
It sounds very easy, right? Yes, it is.
Lab Corp Order Form Template
If you want to create an order form or merge your order form with the world’s leading healthcare diagnostic company LabCorp, then it is now easy. Follow the steps given the link and complete action. On the other hand, you can download the LabCcorp order form template from here which we have designed on your behalf.
FAQ
How Long Are Lab Orders Valid?
It depends on the health condition and type of test done. Each health condition has a different validity. For instance, blood sugar needs to be monitored once a month. Likewise, lab test validity will be decided by doctors from time to time. In general, any test was taken before a year stands invalid and a fresh test is advised.
Do Lab Orders Expire?
Yes, they do have expiry as health condition needs constant monitoring and one-time test report cannot be used for ages. Blood test needs to be repeated once in six months, but creatinine test life is only 3 months. Doctors will rightly suggest the validity of any test.
Can A Nurse Order Labs?
Registered nurses can order a lab test and not others. Any nurse holding a registration certificate under the Nursing Act, 1991 has the rights to order a lab test.
Can A Physician Order Labs For Themselves?
Majority of the medical regulatory body does not recommend self-prescribing and self lab order forms.
What Is A Standing Lab Order?
In the event of any ailment that requires periodical lab test, then the doctor will refer a standing lab order. This means one need not consult a doctor every time to give blood, or urine or any other sample for the test. The doctor will fill the lab from mentioning the required test and date for each test to be taken. It can be the same test or different test but with the standing lab order, patients can reach out to the lab and take the test instead of visiting a doctor every time. Based on doctor’s advice they may or may not consult doctor post the test results are collected
What Is A Lab Requisition Form?
Even though both lab order form and lab requisition form are used by patients to test their samples upon recommended by doctors. The former one is a signed document sent by the doctor to the lab and test is conducted. The latter one is not a signed document and it is a request placed by the doctor or the patient themselves to check the samples for any condition.
What Is A Requisition Form Used For?
The lab requisition form is used to take a lab test with blood, sputum, urine, feces or another specimen to find out the cause for any disease. This form will help doctors to check the entire test required to rule out health issues.
In summary, appropriate treatment can be provided to patients only with the help of the lab test results. The formal document used to request lab to perform a test on a sample is called the lab requisition form.
What Is A Pathology Request Form?
Pathology is the study of disease with the help of examining the organs, tissues, or fluids removed after surgery. One best example to quickly relate is the biopsy test conducted to diagnose cancer. It is done when the tissues are extracted from the body part. The pathology request form is used by doctors to refer patients to take a specific test for identifying and treating the disease.
The pathology request form will contain the patient details, the practitioner details as the primary information. Then it needs to have the clinical information without which the test cannot be carried out in most cases. Details related to the specimen namely the type of test required, date and time when the specimen was collected, fasting status must be mentioned.
There can be one form or individual form for pathology request such as biochemistry request form, microbiology order form, histopathology lab form etc. The request form must clearly indicate why the test is requested; the criticality of the test, patient current condition, and previous test results must be enclosed. This will help the pathology department to study the specimen in detail and provide accurate observations.
Do Lab Orders Need A Physician Signature?
According to CMS.gov, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it is mandatory to obtain a signature from the doctor in the lab order forms.
However, an online form filled from the verified doctor’s account does not require a signature. Say for instance if the doctor has an account with LabCorp and uses that to order a lab test for a patient, then the signature is not obligatory.
Bottomline
We request all laboratory owners to make the best use of the lab order form templates given hereafter carefully vetting all details. Feel free to share your comments and feedback for us to improvise on the templates based o
