MEDITECH today announced the addition of a new web-based Expanse Outreach Portal. Fully integrated into existing MEDITECH Expanse and Outreach workflows, the portal empowers MEDITECH hospitals to develop new service lines and grow their business by connecting with non-affiliated organizations such as nursing homes, urgent care centers, and doctor’s offices to efficiently process laboratory services.
Through the portal, non-affiliated organizations can place lab orders electronically, view real-time results, and run timely management and statistics reports. Additionally, the Outreach Portal provides an easy way to communicate customer service issues and manage supply orders between the hospital and its laboratory clients.
As a web-based platform, the Outreach Portal can be quickly set up to onboard laboratory clients. The centralized portal enables real-time processing and improves efficiency and patient safety by replacing time-consuming manual processes such as faxing and printing orders. While many organizations may already be directly interfaced, having additional communication tools for customer service and supply management allows hospital labs to have tools to better manage their client relationships.
“Laboratory outreach programs present a significant opportunity for hospitals to generate additional revenue and the Outreach Portal simplifies the process,” said Jennifer Ford, Manager of Product Management at MEDITECH. “By enabling labs to connect with clients quickly, leverage existing workflows for ease of use, and manage all aspects of the outreach program in one place, the Outreach Portal is the foundation for taking your in-house laboratory business to the next level.”
Beyond revenue generation, laboratory outreach programs can strengthen community relations and patient engagement by keeping laboratory testing local, reducing turnaround time, and increasing access to care. Additionally, lab results are integrated into the patient’s Expanse EHR for better continuity of care if the patient is later seen at the hospital.
Ford added, “Outreach programs extend laboratory services outside of the hospital so testing is more readily available to a wider population, which can ultimately improve community health. This is especially important for reaching underserved groups and enabling patients access to necessary testing, regardless of where they receive care.”
