Add a Lab Test

Lab Tests are the ‘building blocks’ used to assemble lab panels.  Each lab test that has potential to be included as part of a panel should be created and maintained here.  As additional tests are needed, and as the reference laboratory’s compendium grows, new tests can be added to the lab interface. When adding new lab tests, the following fields are available to the user:

• Name: Name of the lab test that will be sent to the laboratory.

• Order ID: Unique identifier for the lab test; to be used for test identification by the reference lab.

• Order Addition:  An additional metadata field which can be leveraged for orders or labels.

• Specimen Container:  The required container into which a sample must be collected for the given test.  If a lab panel consists of tests with different container types, each container will need to be verified during data collection. 

• Reference Range: This is an optional field that is currently not linked to any functionality in ClinSpark.

• Reference Range Low:  This is an optional field that is currently not linked to any functionality in ClinSpark.

• Reference Range High: This is an optional field that is currently not linked to any functionality in ClinSpark.

• Units:  This is an optional field that is currently not linked to any functionality in ClinSpark.

• Sex (Both, Male, Female):  Defines the gender(s) for which the lab test applies.  If a subject does not match the expected sex for a test, the test will be omitted from the order files for that subject.  

• Result Type (Coded, Numeric, Text, GreaterThan, LessThan, Range): This is an optional field that is currently not linked to any functionality in ClinSpark.

• Category:  Defines the nature of the sample (i.e. urine, blood, serum) to be collected for the given test.  Only tests that share the same category may be added to a given lab panel.  

• SI Conversion Factor:  This is for reference only and not currently used in reports or displayed with any results.

• SI Units: This is for reference only and not currently used in reports or displayed with any results.

Open

Edit a Lab Test

All lab test fields may be edited at any time.  If a lab test has been leveraged as part of a study-specific panel in the Lab > Configure component, edits made in the Administration > Sites component will push through to the study-specific setup.  This means that the global lab interface compendium always serves as the ‘source of truth’.

Open

Delete a Lab Test 

A lab test may be freely deleted until it is leveraged as part of a study-specific panel in the Lab > Configure component.  Once leveraged as part of study-specific setup, the test may no longer be deleted - although it may be archived instead.  

Archive a Lab Test 

Once a lab test has been leveraged as part of a study-specific lab panel in the Lab > Configure component, it is no longer eligible to be deleted.  Instead, the test must be archived in order to prevent future use.  Archived lab tests are not eligible to be used for lab panel creation in the Administration > Sites or Lab > Configure components.  If a lab test is part of a global lab interface panel when it is archived, the test will be removed from the containing global panel.  The test will not be removed, however, from study-specific setup in the Lab > Configure component.

Archived lab tests may be unarchived at any time by deselecting the archived check box.  If a test was removed from a lab interface panel at the time of archiving, the test must be manually added back to the lab interface panel upon unarchiving. 

Lab Test Audits

Audits are stored for all lab test edits and may be accessed by selecting Action > Audits next to the lab test of interest.  User, Time of edit, and Reason for Change are documented for every edit alongside the settings resulting from the edit.