Request Patient Lab Information - EPLHA.02

Patient lab information is requested from the Provincial Laboratory Information Solution (PLIS) through the patient’s chart. PLIS returns a summary list of all tests (batteries) in the repository that meets the date range you specified. The summary list does not display test result values, but will display enough information for you to decide which records to view.

Date Ranges

To retrieve a patient’s lab information from PLIS you must specify a date range.  Your application may provide a list of pre-set ranges (e.g., past week, past month, past year) to choose from or it may allow you to specify your own required date range.  

If your application allows you to enter a start date only, an end date only, both start and end dates or “All” then PLIS will return all records held in the repository as follows:

Date Entered	Records Received and Displayed
Start Date (only)	batteries for the specified Start Date and all available records after the specified Start Date
End Date (only)	batteries available for the specified End Date, and all batteries available before the specified End Date
Start and End Dates (both)	batteries available for the specified Start Date batteries available for the specified End Date, and all batteries between the Start Date and End Date
“All”	all batteries available for the patient

 

PLIS returns every record for the patient when the date range criteria of “all” is used; if your POS application provides this option, it must be used with discretion, particularly for patients that have a complex lab history.

The summary list presented to you is based on the date range you used in your request. Although the summary list does not display the test result values, it provides enough information for you to select the records to view.  When you select from the summary list, the report containing all associated batteries will be retrieved from PLIS. This report may include batteries that were not specifically selected.

Your POS application may have stored lab results received from sources other than PLIS. You should be aware that the Summary list will display all pertinent records from PLIS which receives lab results from many different sources. Consequently, some PLIS records in the Summary List may be duplicates of records from non-PLIS sources stored in the POS application. Therefore, you need to visually compare results returned by PLIS to the results stored in your application so you do not choose to retrieve reports you already have.

When you select a specific test from the summary list, the full report will be displayed.

If there are more records matching your request than are currently displayed, you can chose to receive the remaining records or abort receiving more records.

Reports

PLIS does not consolidate results from different labs on a single report.

• When samples are collected by one BC laboratory and referred to another BC laboratory for testing; the laboratory performing the tests will submit the result to PLIS.
• The collecting laboratory’s report will provide no indication that tests were referred to another BC laboratory that reports directly to PLIS.
• Tests that have been referred to an out-of-province laboratory will only appear if the collecting laboratory entered the information.

Table of Contents for PLIS Education Material for Health Authority