FAQ and roadmap

LabReach is for remote requesters of laboratory testers who want to move away from paper workflows. Such requesters include (but aren’t limited to):

• Fertility clinics
• Hospices
• Care homes
• Prisons
• Community pharmacies
• Occupational health services
• Regional screening services
• Sexual health clinics
• Mental health trusts
• Private hospital and clinics

As with any product, LabReach currently meets several use cases well, yet is evolving to meet the needs of others. This document gives high-level guidance for which use cases LabReach supports currently, and which are planned for the future. Note however that the response of an individual organisation may differ from the below guidance. For example, many teams and organisations are willing to implement an “imperfect” system if it is an improvement on their current process. As such, we would always recommend engaging with any potential requesting organisation to discuss their specific needs - something the X-Lab team can support during the sales or onboarding process.

Use case guidelines

Use case / workflow	Fit	Notes
Occupational Health	Good
Private clinics	Good
Private hospitals	Good	May depend on the organisation size — e.g. larger hospitals may mandate EPR integration.
Regional/national testing programmes	Good	Out-of-region requesters only need internet access to request via LabReach.
Mental health	Good	LabReach will work well for small clinics (e.g. Clozapine), but organisations may mandate an EPR integration for in-patient settings.
Community (in-clinic settings)	Good	Community services are highly variable, and need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis; small community clinics are likely to be well-supported.
Community (Remote requesting)	Good	Mobile requesting currently in development.
Sexual health	Variable	Most sexual health services using Lilie for patient management use ICE via an integration. However, other patient management systems typically are not integrated, and a good candidate for LabReach.
Other commercial contracts	Good	A wide range of use cases that (in our experience so far) are typically well supported, but needs analysis on a case-by-case basis.

Note that the above list is not exhaustive, and the LabReach team would be happy to review and analyse any potential use cases.

Pricing is transaction based.

LabReach counts transactions at the request level.

A request is a single OBR segment (orderable) generated by the requesting organisation.

• Each request created by a requesting organisation in LabReach counts as a transaction, whether the request is completed by the performing laboratory or not
• A profile / set will only count as one transaction

LabReach counts transactions at the request level. A request is a single OBR segment (orderable) generated by the requesting organisation.

• Each request created by a requesting organisation in LabReach counts as a transaction, whether the request is completed by the performing laboratory or not
• A profile / set will only count as one transaction

The solution is scalable across the trust- it is web-based and requires no further installation in order to purchase new licences etc.

This is not a new interface, it is the existing Labgnostic interface. Orders/requests flow from LabReach into Labgnostic, into the LIMS, and then results back via the same route.

We send a site location code (ODS or other) and GP code with each order message.

Yes they can.

NHS digital will release data to another organisation, either public or private, where we have a legal basis to do so. The purpose for accessing PDS data determines this legal basis.

If the purpose is to deliver care to patients by care providers, for example, then there is a clear legal basis.

Yes we currently have simple label printing available in a standard 5*2cm label with a scannable code 128 barcode and some eye readable PID (e.g. name, NHS number, DOB).

In the future we're looking to work with partners to understand and develop more configurable printing functionality.

Inbound and outbound data we sent will be over an encrypted HTTPS connection that will route via a layer 7 web application firewall.

Data transferred within the system will be encrypted at rest and be transmitted by HTTPS within a secure virtual network that has no connection to the public internet.

Our SLA is to use commercially reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Service is available throughout the Subscription Term for 99.7% of the time.

Our 3rd line engineering team on call is provisioned as part of this service, their support is triggered by supplier internal alerting and monitoring of key components of the system, which are designed into the service to minimise the risk of loss of service.