Operations workbench

Branch performance and alerts

Open Operations → Core Workflow → Performance Workbench to monitor branch warnings in one place. Sample SLA Queue is now part of this page: choose Sample collection SLA. Old links open this filtered view automatically.

Dashboard Needs attention warnings open the same queue with the relevant source and alert type selected. The laboratory overview opens an affected branch; switch branches to continue elsewhere. Sources and actions depend on your permissions. The queue includes order turnaround, sample collection and stability, quality, inventory, critical results, device issues, sample transfers, incidents, home visits, finance, and local synchronization.

Use Live warnings, Unassigned, Assigned to me, or Escalated to focus the branch workload. Source shortcuts show sources with work; the filter menu also contains sources with no current records. Search by reference, patient, owner, or alert. Live warnings are independent of historical date filters. The date range selects historical order records alongside ongoing work.

Order turnaround warnings use the saved manual order deadline when one is set. Otherwise, they use each sample’s turnaround override, or the test’s usual turnaround when no override is set. An order is finished only when its required results are released and its patient balance is settled; work routed to another branch is tracked there independently of the source order’s payment.

Open a row or choose View Follow-up to see the source condition, accountable owner, escalation level, and follow-up history without leaving the queue. Authorized operations managers can:

• Assign Owner: choose a branch staff member and add an optional handoff note.
• Acknowledge: the assigned owner accepts responsibility for the next step.
• Escalate: optionally record why supervisor attention is needed. The queue keeps up to three escalation levels. Collection cases must be overdue before manual escalation.
• Resolve: choose the outcome and optionally add a note. For collection cases, choose recollection or no longer required; collection itself closes the case automatically.

Select the checkboxes beside multiple rows, then use Selected items to apply the same action in one step. Use the table pagination and page-size controls to choose the rows to work on. Bulk selection respects the current source, filters, search, and unchecked exclusions. Mixed selections are supported: choose an outcome if resolving sample collection cases. The completion message reports how many items were updated and how many were skipped because their state or permissions did not allow the action.

All reason, note, and description text fields in these follow-up actions are optional. Assignment still requires an owner, and resolving a collection case still requires an outcome. Every completed action remains recorded even when no note is entered.

Use Add Comment in the row actions or follow-up details to share an update with the branch team. The history records the comment, your name, and the time without changing ownership, escalation, or status. You can also comment on resolved follow-ups and add the same comment to selected items. The comment field is optional; submitting it empty adds no history entry.

The default Active follow-up filter excludes resolved work. Select Resolved to review retained outcomes. A resolved non-collection item can be reopened with an optional note while its source condition remains available. Reassigning a non-collection item clears the previous acknowledgement so the new owner accepts the handoff.

Resolving follow-up records your coordination decision. It does not approve a clinical result, remove a stability alarm, replenish stock, pay a bill, or close a drawer. Use Open source workspace to perform the required operational action. Live warnings continues to show conditions that still exist even if their follow-up was marked resolved. Once the source condition clears, it leaves the live queue.

What the operations workbench is for

The Operations Workbench is the fastest way to see what is currently moving inside a branch. It does not replace the Orders list, the Sample Log, the Results Queue, or the analyzers' pages. Instead, it brings the most important active items from those areas into one screen so the operations team can decide where to start.

The page is branch-scoped. A user sees the work that belongs to the current Lab Panel branch and only sees actions allowed by their role. Managers can normally see the full queue. Reception, technicians, and operations users may see a smaller set depending on their assigned permissions.

Queue overview

The compact overview at the top shows the live workload in five groups. Select Sample Queue to open the Sample Collection Workbench if you have permission to view samples. The other groups jump to their full section on the same page:

Counter	What it means
Intake Queue	Active orders that still need operational attention.
Sample Queue	Samples in active states such as pending, collected, in transit, received, or processing.
Results Queue	Orders that have entered result work and should be checked by a technician or reviewer.
Dispatch Queue	Open home visit requests that are pending, assigned, or started.
Recollection Queue	Rejected samples that need a replacement collection.

If a total is larger than the visible list, the section shows Showing 8 of 10, for example. Use the relevant full record or dedicated workspace when the queue is larger than the preview.

Consistent queue sections

Every queue uses the same structure: a semantic color and icon, a short description, the true total, compact identity and status information, the most useful time or identifier, and one accountable action. On a phone the action moves below the identity without hiding the status or blocker. Empty sections show a clear completion state instead of a blank panel.

Intake queue

Each intake item shows the order code, patient name, current status, creation time, checklist progress, and next step. The progress bar is calculated from the order checklist, not typed manually. If it shows a low percentage, open the order and check whether the blocker is payment, sample processing, home visit dispatch, or results closure.

Use View Order when you need patient details, selected tests, payment summary, order activity, samples, results, or cashier navigation. Avoid changing statuses from memory; open the order and read the current state first.

Sample queue

Select the Sample Queue heading or its overview counter to open the Sample Collection Workbench. That workbench lists pending samples awaiting collection in the current branch, with patient identification, tube guidance, and collection confirmation. The queue count here includes other active sample states as well, so it can be higher than the workbench's waiting count.

Sample cards show the sample code, patient, sample status, barcode, and a shortcut to View Samples. This queue is useful for quick barcode follow-up. If a patient calls asking whether the sample was received, or a technician asks why a test is not ready, open the sample record and check the sample lane, receipt date, priority, rejection note, transfer, and included tests.

If the barcode is missing or the wrong label was printed, go to the Sample Log rather than editing the order directly. The sample actions keep the audit trail tied to the sample.

Recollection queue

Waiting for Recollection shows the original barcode, patient, rejection reason, affected tests, and request time. Choose Open Recollection to open the order's Sample Log, then create the replacement from Missing Tests Samples. The rejected source remains in history. The new tube then waits in the Sample Collection Workbench with a Recollection badge that names the barcode it replaces, so the collector draws it like any other pending sample.

Results queue

Results cards show the order code, patient, operational status, received time, and result progress. The progress line compares entered results, expected results, approved or released results, and released results. This makes it clear whether the order is waiting for entry, waiting for approval, or ready for final release.

The Open Results link is shown only when the user has permission to enter or review results. Users without that permission see a manager or technician-only marker so they know the queue exists but cannot open the clinical worksheet.

Dispatch queue

Dispatch cards show the visit code, patient, visit status, collector, scheduled time, and a shortcut to the order. They are for home collection work that is still pending, assigned, or in the field. Use the dedicated Home Visit Dispatch Board to schedule, assign or reassign, confirm tube custody, recover a missed field status with an audit reason, review the timeline, and receive each returned sample into its exact location.

How to run a shift from the workbench

At the beginning of a shift, check the highest-risk queue first. For many branches that means results waiting for release, urgent samples, or active home visits. During busy reception hours, check the intake queue frequently because new orders can block downstream work if patient information, test selection, or requirements are incomplete.

A practical rhythm is:

1. Clear urgent dispatch and sample exceptions.
2. Open orders with blocked checklist steps.
3. Move received samples into processing.
4. Open result candidates and finish entry or review.
5. Return to the workbench to confirm counts are dropping.

Empty states

An empty queue is not a system problem by itself. No active intake items, No sample work items, No pending result items, and No dispatch items simply mean nothing in that branch currently matches the active queue criteria. If staff expect a record to appear, check the branch, order status, sample status, user permissions, and whether the work has already moved to a finished or cancelled state.

Common mistakes

Do not treat the workbench as the only source of detail. It is a triage surface. Open the full record before making decisions.

Do not ignore the checklist next step. It is the best signal for why an order is still active.

Do not ask reception to solve clinical result blockers or ask technicians to solve cashier blockers. Use the visible queue to route work to the right team.