Rules-based Technology
Orchard's broad and diverse customer base has made Orchard Harvest LIS the leader in flexible, rules-based, decision-making technology. Orchard's rules-based technology improves workflow efficiency and reduces errors by offering advanced customizable rules to aid in decision making for order entry, auto-approval of patient results, reflexing additional testing, automatic comments, clinical follow-up recommendations, and order splitting.
Rules for Order Entry
Use the Harvest LIS rules engine to manage or eliminate duplicate orders or tests ordered on the wrong age or sex, to route tests to outside labs if insurance company reimburses less than it costs to do the test in-house, to automatically add venipuncture charges, and more. Rules that trigger alerts are triggered before the order is saved, eliminating time and effort in the laboratory.
Rules for Result Evaluation
Harvest LIS' rules-based technology ensures the consistent execution of procedures, increases the productivity of your staff, and increases the speed of training new staff members. You can base rules on numerous data points, including test results, delta violations, providers, locations, patients, order priorities, and patient ages. You can also determine what actions Harvest LIS takes when a rule is triggered, such as adding required comments, holding tests, reflexing order choices, or printing form letters.
Harvest LIS captures instrument flags and error messages, eliminating instrument printouts and allowing laboratorians to review results at a single workstation. This feature is particularly beneficial in the Hematology lab, where there can be different laboratorians performing hemograms and manual differentials.
Rules for CPT Codes
Design CPT rules to consolidate or change billing codes if testing conditions require different billing codes. For example, the decision to report a manual differential could trigger a rule to suppress the CBC with an automated differential billing code, and change it to a Hemogram with platelets and a manual differential code. You can create as many custom profiles as you want and let Harvest LIS' CPT/billing rules ensure that the proper codes are assigned. Having accurate coding for work performed will increase reimbursements.
Rules for Patient Matching
During new patient registration, human or processing errors can create duplicate patient files. By alerting you to potential duplications, patient match rules assist you in proactively managing your patient records. Once rules are triggered, use Harvest LIS' powerful merge/move tool to resolve duplicate patient files or to move date of service records from one patient file to another.
Rules for Result Delivery
With Harvest LIS' rules for result delivery, you can automate the delivery of printed and/or faxed reports based on the provider, order location, draw location, test location, reporting group, order priority (Routine, ASAP, and STAT), or severity of the order. This eliminates manual steps that are time-consuming and prone to error.
Rules for Splitting Orders
Your order-entry staff will save time and speed up the order/check-in process by using rules for splitting orders. Harvest LIS will automatically split orders during order entry based on the sample type, storage temperature, testing location, order location, billing status, order choice priority (Routine, ASAP, and STAT), or order choice type (microbiology, hematology, etc.) of the order choices in the order.
Rules for Microbiology Thresholds
With the Harvest LIS Microbiology module, you can write microbiology threshold rules. You can document Kirby-Bauer zone sizes and let Harvest LIS provide interpretations using threshold rules based on organism, antibiotic type, and source. The module also supports CLSI/NCCLS deduced drugs.
Rules for Microbiology and Anatomic Pathology Result Evaluation
Because Harvest LIS Microbiology and Anatomic Pathology modules are fully integrated with Harvest LIS, robust rules-based decision making power is available throughout the modules. Rules can also be set up to present technical instructions automatically. As an example, result evaluation rules for workflow scenarios can be customized to individual pathologist's needs, and send-out tests and correlations can be automatically reflex-ordered according to interpretation/results.