Awanui Labs has recently made an operational change to how we handle duplicate test requests and what this change may mean for you.

Awanui Labs experiences a high degree of multiple requests for the same patients, a significant number of these requests are from different doctors within the same clinic. Currently when the patient presents for their blood collection, we will fulfil all outstanding requests for that patient as individual episodes, including duplicates and copies to other requesters when indicated.

Completing duplicate tests and multiple copying results is in many cases an unnecessary waste of resources. Where clinically appropriate Awanui will be merging multiple outstanding request forms for the same patient from the same primary care practice. The primary requester will be obtained from the most recent request form. This merge will happen at the time the patient presents for their blood test.

Awanui will NOT be merging multiple requests from different practices, from hospital, or from community-based specialist requests.

Impact on referrers

We expect very little impact to occur for you as a referrer, however you may receive test results for your patient when someone else in your clinic has also requested tests for the same patient.

The most recent test request will be considered the ‘primary doctor,’ however all doctors will receive the results if they were an original requestor. If multiple request forms have the same tests, only one of each panel is activated, i.e. all tests requested are merged and duplicates are eliminated.

This change is occurring with immediate effect, and we trust we have your support in this initiative to reduce duplication while maintaining quality of service and patient care. If you have questions or feedback, please contact us on auk.feedback@awanuilabs.co.nz.