Office Nurse Workflow

View the video above and/or read through the text below to learn how to document for the office nurse station! Please let us know if you have any questions.

If you have not yet used the clinical inbox, configure with the “+” in the upper right-hand corner. Then select all under “Staff” and “Practice Roles” (only needs to be configured once).

After an order is signed, a task will be sent to the Athena clinical inbox under either the “Orders / Rxs / Auths” or “Lab / Imaging.” Please always ask patient to state his/her DOB to confirm correct chart is pulled up.
See SMLC Orders Reference list for frequent orders if there is uncertainty about appropriate lab order numbers. LabCorp order numbers are embedded in the order name if you need to verify processing procedures. If there is an issue with a lab order or processing, these labs will return to the clinical inbox and are taken care of by SMLC staff. Patients are able to view their lab results via the Athena Patient Portal.

SMLC Office Nurse is responsible for the following:

1. Vaccine administration
2. Point-of-care tests (I.e. urinalysis/dipstick)
3. *Send-out orders (I.e. lab draw, pap smear, urine culture)

*If unable to complete orders, in the “View Actions” menu, select “Submit” then “Could Not Take Specimen.”


Workflow for Completing In-Office Orders

1. Vaccine administration: Click “Orders / Rxs / Auths” from the clinical inbox. Next, click on the patient from the inbox, and confirm all information is accurate. Then scan barcode or input vaccine information. To complete the task, click “View Actions,” select “Close,” and then “Save.”

2. Point-of-care tests: Click “Lab / Imaging” from the clinical inbox. Next, click on the patient from the inbox, confirm all information is accurate, and then input results. Click “Save” at the bottom when complete. To complete the task, click “View Actions,” select “Data Entry Completed,” and click “Save” (again).

3. Send-out orders: Click “Orders / Rxs / Auths” from the clinical inbox. Next, click on the patient from the inbox, and confirm all information is accurate, including “Billing type” set to Practice.
   1. Label: Under “Print barcode labels for order results” at the top, select “Single Page, Review”, and then scroll down to click Print label (Note: you must click “Document specimen” to view the “Print label” button).
      1. Note: the label code ONLY includes patient’s name and DOB, so the same label may be placed on each tube). Either QR code or bar code are acceptable by LabCorp.

1. 2. Document: Click “Document specimen,” and input specimen source (I.e. blood venous, cervix, or urine), collector, date/time, and any other pertinent info for lab draw. Next, click “View Actions” from the bottom of the task. From here, select “Submit” and “With In-House Specimen Draw,” and then click Save.
      1. Note: Some boxes may be grayed out (unchangeable). These are only editable via the provider, so the office nurse does not need to edit these.

1. 3. Lab Requisition: Print one lab requisition that includes all lab orders together, but separate requisitions for urine cultures, paps, etc. To do so, click on the order(s) again from the clinical inbox (should now be grouped together if more than one), and then check the appropriate boxes for appropriate requisition, then click “print selected.”
      1. Note: The labs may print on the back of requisition and signatures on requisition are NOT required.