Lab Interface: Create Lab Order Frequencies

Facilities can customize the frequencies used to order lab tests according to the facility’s policies and procedures.

Frequencies are based on:

• Intervals in Days (e.g., every 3 days)
• Occurrence on Day of Week (e.g., every Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
• As needed (e.g., order will always be available to collect for the patient over the duration of the order)
• Random by Monthly, Weekly, or Weekly Prog (e.g., 3 times a month on randomized days)

Lab Order Frequencies

Create as many custom frequencies as needed and designate one as the default. To add or update an Order Frequency, use the following steps:

1. Click on your initials and choose Settings.
    
2. Open the Orders tab.
3. Scroll to the Lab Order Frequencies section.
4. To create a new order frequency, click Add item.
5. To create an Interval order:
   
   • Name your interval. This appears in the Frequency drop-down when creating the order. 
   • Select Interval from the Type drop-down and Day from the Unit drop-down.
   • Set the Interval to the number of days the patient will be due for testing. If the patient needs to be tested every 4 days, input 4. 
6. To create an Occurrence order:
   
   • Name your interval. This appears in the Frequency drop-down when creating the order. 
   • Select Occurrence from the Type drop-down and Day of week from the Unit drop-down.
   • Select each day the patient will be due for testing. If the patient needs to be tested Tuesday and Friday select those checkboxes. 
7. To create an As needed order:
   
   • Name your interval. This appears in the Frequency drop-down when creating the order. 
   • Select As needed from the Type drop-down. 
8. To create a Random order:
   
   • Name your interval. This appears in the Frequency drop-down when creating the order. 
   • Select Random from the Type drop-down.
   • Select a Unit from the drop-down. Your options are Monthly, Weekly, or Weekly Prog.
   • Input the number of Times the patient should be tested during the randomized interval (e.g., 3 times per month or week).
   • Select each day the patient could be due for testing. This means if your facility isn't open on Sundays, deselect Sunday to ensure no testing orders are randomly created for that day.
9. Click Update to save your changes.

Random Frequency FAQ

The random frequency option allows lab requisitions to be scheduled on randomized days based on the rules you configure in your system.

1. Select your initials. Then select Settings > Orders > Lab order Frequencies.

Frequency Intervals

You can create Random Frequencies using one of the following interval types.

• Monthly: Set the number of times a patient should be tested per month and choose the days of the week eligible for testing. At the start of each month, the system will randomly assign test days based on your selections.
  Weekly: Set the number of times a patient should be tested each week and select the days of the week allowed for testing. Every Sunday morning, the system will assign randomized test days for the upcoming week.
  Weekly Prog (Progressive): Set the number of times a patient should be tested each week and select the days of the week allowed for testing. Every Sunday morning, the system will assign randomized test days for the upcoming week. The system will use a weighted percentage system, meaning the chance of being selected for testing increases as the week progresses.
  Example: 3 times per week on random days, increasing likelihood toward Friday or Saturday if earlier tests haven’t occurred.
  

  Note: Random frequencies reset either weekly (on Sundays) or monthly, depending on the type you select. Once reset, the system will randomly choose days that comply with your rules.

How Random Frequencies are Different From Other Options

Frequency Type	Description
Interval	Fixed number of days between tests (e.g., every 3 days).
Occurrence	Testing on specific days of the week (e.g., Mon/Wed/Fri).
As Needed	Orders are always available for collection, with no fixed schedule. The requisition will appear every day on the Due Today tab until it is collected. Once collected, it will reappear the next day, remaining available for collection throughout the order's duration.
Random	Testing occurs a specific number of times per week or month, but days are selected at random based on your configuration.

Random Frequency Notes

1. If a patient is scheduled for a collection on a random day (e.g., Monday) and that collection is missed or not processed, it still counts toward the weekly or monthly total. Missed days are not reallocated.

2. You can always create a manual requisition if the patient has an active lab order, even if they are not showing on the Due Today tab.

   

How Randomized Frequencies Work

Random Frequencies are randomized internally by the system based on the rules you configure in the Lab Order Frequencies settings. Radomonization is done automatically by the platform and is not visible or configurable by users. The system ensures that the selected days are distributed across the allowed days you’ve chosen (i.e., if Sundays are deselected, they won't be used). Does not repeat patterns across weeks or months, keeping testing unpredictable while still following your frequency rules.

1. When a Random Frequency is selected (e.g., 3 times per month), the system looks at The total number of tests due for that time period (e.g., 3), the days of the week you’ve allowed testing to occur (e.g., Monday through Saturday)
2. Each week (for Weekly/Weekly Prog) or each month (for Monthly), the system randomly selects from the eligible days to schedule those tests.
3. The selection happens automatically on Sundays for weekly-based randoms and at the start of the month for monthly-based randoms.