What connected access looks like
For patients, access to care involves more than appointment availability or the distance to a clinic. It also includes the experience after a patient arrives. When appropriate testing is integrated into routine care, the patient journey may become less fragmented. Depending on the tests offered and the practice’s clinical and operational model, patients may be able to complete more of the testing journey in a familiar setting, while physicians may gain more timely access to relevant laboratory information. For physician office laboratories (POLs), this creates an opportunity to reconsider the role of patient access. The objective extends beyond the speed or location of testing. It is about supporting a coordinated experience in which laboratory information can move more effectively into clinical decision-making and follow-up, while practices manage the operational requirements involved.
Reducing friction in testing
Consider a patient who visits a primary care physician with a health concern. If testing requires a referral to another location, the patient may need to schedule another appointment, travel to another site, and wait for the result to return to the practice. Each step may be manageable on its own, but together they can add complexity to the care journey. Where testing is clinically appropriate and operationally feasible within the practice, it can become part of the care experience rather than a separate journey. The value is not convenience alone. It is an opportunity to make selected services available within the setting where patients already receive care.
Connecting the test, result, and care decision
The value of accessible testing continues after a sample is collected. The test result is not the destination. It provides information that a qualified healthcare professional may use when considering the next step in a patient’s care.
Making testing available within the practice is only part of the equation. Orders, workflows, results, and the systems used by laboratory and care teams also need to connect. When relevant laboratory information is available through established, authorized workflows, clinicians may be better positioned to review it as part of treatment, follow-up, or further assessment. Speed alone does not determine clinical outcomes. However, examining avoidable manual handoffs and disconnected information processes can help practices identify barriers between testing and subsequent care decisions.
Supporting continuity of care and a coordinated patient experience
Access is particularly relevant for patients with ongoing health needs. Chronic disease management and routine monitoring may involve repeated testing, follow-up, and communication between patients and care teams. When appropriate testing is integrated into the practice’s workflows, laboratory information can remain more closely associated with the visit and the broader care plan. In-practice testing is not appropriate for every circumstance. Reference laboratories and referrals remain important. Practices should evaluate which testing services align with patient needs, applicable requirements, available resources, clinical oversight, and their broader care model.
Building a sustainable approach to testing
Connected access must also be operationally sustainable. Adding testing services can introduce new demands involving staffing, workflow management, documentation, quality processes, connectivity, and regulatory requirements. Without appropriate systems and processes, additional services may increase the burden on the practice and laboratory teams.
The goal is to integrate appropriate testing into the care model in a coordinated and manageable way. Practices should consider how orders and results move beyond the systems, where staff rely on manual handoffs, how exceptions are identified, and whether authorized users can readily access the information relevant to their responsibilities. Technology can support that foundation.
For healthcare leaders, connected access is also a strategic consideration. As practices evaluate how to expand appropriate testing services, they must balance patient access goals with staffing realities, operational complexity, and long-term sustainability. Creating a more connected testing experience can help practices support continuity of care, strengthen operational coordination, and build a foundation for future growth without introducing unnecessary friction into clinical or laboratory workflows.
Clinisys™ Orchard® is designed to help POLs connect laboratory workflows and results within physician practices. It can support access to results and help reduce manual handoffs and disconnected processes. Through support for in-practice testing workflows, Clinisys™ can provide an operational foundation for service development while keeping attention on patient care.
Technology is only part of the story. Its value is reflected in the experience it helps support. When testing is connected to clinical practice, information can move through more connected workflows, helping support coordination across care teams and providing access to relevant information within established processes.
Connected access means considering the full pathway between a patient’s visit, appropriate testing, the availability of laboratory information, and the next step in care. For POLs, this requires a balance of clinical appropriateness, operational readiness, quality oversight, and connected information workflows.
Clinisys™ Orchard® can help physician practices build the laboratory workflows and information foundation needed to support their connected access objectives.
