A GP laboratory test electronic ordering system piloted at Our Lady’s Hospital Navan is to be extended to Beaumont Hospital, University Hospital Waterford, and Galway University Hospital.

The process allows GPs to place pathology orders electronically from within their practice management systems via a link to a site-specific page on the Healthlink portal. Healthlink is the national health messaging broker operated by HSE.

The new eOrdering system allows GPs to select the test required on screen and the order is delivered electronically within minutes to the laboratory system.

A laboratory request form is then printed detailing the requests and associated patient and clinical detail information. The request form contains a barcoded order number that is entered into the lab system, and links to a matching patient record or creates a new one and files the request.

According to eHealth Ireland, feedback from users within GP practices in Meath has been broadly very positive. It says they have adapted extremely well to using the eOrdering facility, although some “initial support and reassurance” were required. The process was found to be user friendly.

Feedback from the laboratory service at Our Lady’s Hospital has also been positive. The speed and accuracy of the electronic order and the automatic registration of new patients has been welcomed, and savings in time and resources have been achieved, eHealth Ireland says.

The next phase in the project is to roll the eOrdering facility out to GPs sending lab requests to Beaumont Hospital, University Hospital Waterford, and Galway University Hospital.

The roll out to all three hospitals and their surrounding GP practices is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2024. The system will subsequently be expanded to include more laboratories across the country.