Context
Our client, Labcorp, is a global leader in laboratory diagnostics and a longstanding provider of genetic and genomic testing services to patients and healthcare providers across the country. The organization receives thousands of test orders per month from healthcare professionals to make critical clinical decisions and patient care plans. Each test order requires completion of a Test Requisition Form (TRF). These forms capture patient demographics, insurance details, provider information, diagnostic codes, specimen specifications, clinical history, and patient consent documentation.
Labcorp has a dedicated Data Processing team that manually reviews each TRF before specimens can be tested. If information is incomplete or missing, then Customer Service Representative must contact healthcare providers for additional information. This "quality gate" is crucial to prevent delays in testing, ensuring specimen integrity, and providing accurate, timely results to patients.
Problem
The order verification workflow at Labcorp relied heavily on manual processes that consumed substantial team resources. Each of these incomplete orders were managed by customer service representative via a multi-step workflow which involved sending a personalized manual email to providers, document responses, and forwarding this information back to the processing team.
The manual method of performing these steps led to several major issues:
- Manually processing incomplete orders was a time-consuming task that required approximately 6 full-time staff members to spend 15 minutes per order to compose emails, track, and forward responses
- Information collection on average took 2.5 days, which slowed down the testing cycle and created delays before results were delivered to patients
- The manual tracking processes made it extremely difficult to know whether or not a provider had responded, or if follow up communication was needed with that provider
- Email composition errors caused many instances where repeated contact with providers was necessary to obtain the exact same information
- Sensitive patient information moved through several different external platforms, creating data security and compliance risks
Solution
Cloud Maven, Inc deployed a specialized communication suite, combining Secure Email and Fax Hub within Labcorp's Salesforce environment, directly connecting to the organization's Testing and Order Management System. The solutions automate the complete provider communication lifecycle: receiving test orders via fax, resolving incomplete orders through secure outreach, and delivering final reports back to providers and patients.
The system features several key capabilities:
- Standardized email templates corresponding to the 60 distinct reasons for incomplete orders automatically populate with relevant order details, patient information, and provider specifics
- Emails are encrypted for secure transmission and automatically linked to the associated case and order record, providing end-to-end traceability of every communication
- Incoming test orders and TRF documents are received directly from providers via the integrated fax application and automatically linked to the correct patient and provider records in Salesforce
- Completed test reports are delivered back to providers via secure fax, with customizable fax cover letters that auto-populate order and provider details while patients receive results through secure email
- Emails can be created and delivered using Salesforce, eliminating the manual work that previously needed to be done by customer service personnel
- Built-in dashboards track email delivery and the provider responses
- When a provider does not respond as expected, automated follow-up triggers escalate cases
Implementation
Cloud Maven, Inc worked closely with Labcorp's operations and customer service teams to deploy the Secure Email solution. The implementation process emphasized thorough testing and team training for smooth adoption of the new workflow. Following the successful deployment, the staff transitioned away from manually managing emails to monitoring systems for quality assurance purposes. This resulted in significant reduction in workload for staff while maintaining high-quality oversight of provider communication.
Results
The automation fundamentally changed how Labcorp manages incomplete test orders, converting a manual process into a streamlined system.
- Reduction of 6.25 full-time equivalent positions, resulting in an annual cost savings of $400,000
- Reduced information collection timeframe from 2.5 days to 4 hours, improving test processing and results delivery to customers
- From order intake via fax to results delivery via fax and secure email, the unified workflow eliminated reliance on disconnected external platforms
- Automated tracking and dashboard reporting providing complete transparency on the status of provider responses
- Eliminating manual error in composing emails which resulted in a decrease in unnecessary follow up requests being sent to providers
- Centralized secure email processing within Salesforce reduced exposure to data and improved compliance with security regulations
