Every case comment is automatically stamped with the author, date, and time, creating a chronological activity trail that shows progress and supports audit and compliance needs.

Why it matters

• Transparency and continuity: Anyone can see what happened, when, and by whom, enabling smooth handoffs.
• Accountability: Clear ownership and decision history reduce errors and rework.
• Compliance: Immutable activity history simplifies internal audits and external reviews.
• Dispute resolution: Objective record of communications, attempts, and outcomes.

Best practices for comments

• Be objective and concise: State facts, not opinions.
• Include the 4Ws + next step: Who you contacted, what was discussed/decided, when it occurred, why it matters, and what happens next.
• Time-stamp interactions: Record call times, messages sent, and acknowledgements received.
• Close the loop: Add a final “Resolution” comment summarizing outcome and evidence.
  

Associating all relevant records with a Case creates a single source of truth so anyone can retrieve context and act with one click.

What you can link

• Orders/Accessions.
• Requisitions.
• Standing Orders: Schedules and fulfillment history for recurring testing.
• Transactions: Claims, invoices, payments, adjustments.
• Documents: Consents, payer letters, fax confirmations, emails (as PDFs). OCL LIS does not limit the type of files.
• QC/QA Records.
• Patients.
• Physicians/Providers: Ordering or receiving clinicians involved in the issue.
• Sales Reps/Client Owners: Commercial point of contact for client-facing follow‑ups.
• Destinations: Report endpoints (fax numbers, secure emails).
• Tests/Panels: Specific analytes or panels when the issue is test‑specific.

Why link them

• One-click retrieval: Open the order, view/print the report, or preview a document without leaving the Case.
• Continuity and audit: A complete chain of evidence—who, what, when-across clinical, distribution, and billing.
• Faster triage: See all impacted items, assign owners, and prioritize by risk.
• Better reporting.

How to link (quick steps)

• From the Case:
  1. Add Related → choose record type (Order, Patient, Transaction, etc.).
  2. Search, select and attach.
  3. Repeat for additional records; use Bulk Add for multiple accessions.
• From a record:
  • Click on More Options to display all available actions.
    

Behavior and governance

• Holds:
  • Hold Results and Hold Billing apply only to the orders you link and toggle-not globally to all linked items.
• Privacy:
  • If the Case is restricted via “Share Only With,” the Case is private; the underlying records remain governed by their own permissions in their native screens.
• Notifications:
  • Watchers receive updates when linked records change (per your notification settings).
• Security:
  • Role-based access controls still apply; users without rights to a record won’t see its details even if linked.

Best practices

• Be precise: Link only records that truly pertain to the issue; avoid over‑linking.
• Include identifiers: In Case notes, reference accession IDs, claim numbers, and destination names for clarity.
• Use tags and categories: E.g., “Distribution Failure,” “ICD Clarification,” “QC Investigation.”
• Keep it current: Unlink records once they’re resolved if they clutter the workflow; summarize resolution in the Case.
• Add a backup: Include a team lead as watcher/owner to prevent stalls during PTO.
• Attach proof: Requisitions, payer letters, and delivery logs—note “see attachment” in comments.

Common use patterns

• Multi-order recollect: Link all impacted accessions, the patient, and the ordering provider; place Hold Results until recollection.
• Payer audit/denial: Link the order, claim/transaction, payer letter (document), and client account; Hold Billing until coding is finalized.
• Destination outage: Link the destination endpoint and all affected orders; requeue sends when service restores; document attempts and confirmations.
• QC investigation: Link QC runs, instrument logs, affected tests/orders; capture corrective actions and supervisor sign-off.

Pitfalls to avoid

• Assuming linking triggers actions: Linking doesn’t resend reports or create invoices—use the appropriate actions.
• Mixing unrelated incidents in one Case: Creates noise and complicates reporting; use one Case per distinct issue.
• Missing chain-of-custody: If it wasn’t linked or attached, it’s easy to miss in audits-capture artifacts promptly.
• Single-point visibility: For private Cases, add at least two permitted users.

Quick checklist

• Linked all relevant records (orders, documents, transactions, destinations)?
• Set Category/Subcategory and tags for filtering/reporting.
• Applied/released any necessary holds on the affected orders.
• Added watchers/owner.
• Attached evidence and logged next actions with timestamps.

Linking the right records to a Case turns scattered context into an actionable workspace-everything you need is one click away, with a complete audit trail.