Requisition (lab order)

What is a lab requisition?

A requisition, or lab order, is the request that tells a lab which tests to perform for a patient. It can be a paper form that arrives with the specimen or an electronic order sent from a clinic's system.

What a requisition usually includes

• Patient identifiers, such as full name and date of birth.
• The ordering provider and how to reach them.
• The tests or panels requested.
• Specimen type and collection date and time.
• In the US, diagnosis codes and insurance details used for billing.

A complete, legible requisition helps prevent errors such as running the wrong test or sending the result to the wrong person. Most labs have a process for following up on missing or unclear details before testing.

How Lab Desk handles it

In Lab Desk, an order is one patient requisition. It holds the patient, ordering provider, tests or panels, sample ID, collection time and payment status, and moves from ordered to shared. See orders and results.

Related terms

• Specimen ID (accession number): A unique number given to a specimen or order so it can be tracked and matched to the right patient.
• Turnaround time: The time it takes a lab to deliver a result, measured between two agreed points such as collection and report.
• LIS (laboratory information system): Software that manages a clinical lab's orders, specimens, results and reports.