Printable hospital template
External laboratory referral and results tracker
Follow an external laboratory request from referral to returned report and clinician review, with a named owner for each outstanding administrative step.
- Written by
- RizCare
- Published
- Last reviewed
RizCare's suggested worksheet. Adapt to your hospital. https://riz.care/library/templates/external-lab-referral-tracker
For authorised hospital staff following external laboratory requests.
Reception sent the request yesterday. Today the clinician wants to know whether the report has arrived. Keep the request, receipt and clinical review as distinct events so the answer can come from the record rather than a search through several conversations.
Keep the actual request and report in the appropriate patient record. This tracker is not a laboratory requisition, specimen-handling protocol or clinical decision tool. Adapt the handover with the hospital's clinical lead and the receiving laboratory.
Print this page or save it as a PDF from your browser. The print layout contains only the blank worksheet and its completion note. Fill it in within your hospital.
Practice: ____________________ Prepared by: ____________________ Date: ______________
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Patient / visit reference | |
| Request / ordering clinician | |
| Destination laboratory | |
| Request handover / date | |
| Report received / by | |
| Report location / completeness | |
| Clinician responsible for review | |
| Handover accepted / recorded | |
| Clinical review recorded at | |
| Next administrative action / owner | |
| Follow-up time agreed by clinical team | |
| Administrative status |
Keep completed copies with the staff authorised to use them.
How to use it
Link the request to the right attendance
Record the patient reference, visit date, request reference, ordering clinician and destination laboratory. Preserve the clinician's request in the clinical record; do not copy detailed findings into a widely accessible reception list. Confirm the patient and request match before any report is filed.
Track the external handover
Record whether the request was handed to the patient or sent through the hospital's agreed route. Do not mark a test completed just because a request left the hospital. If information is missing, name the person who will check with the relevant team.
WHO's laboratory handbook recommends retaining referral details, tracking reports received and recording turnaround problems for referred samples. That section addresses laboratories. This hospital worksheet borrows the tracking principle; it does not instruct hospital staff on sample collection or transport.
Source: Laboratory Quality Management System handbook, section 5-5.
Separate report receipt from clinical review
When a report returns, record the date, the record location and who received it. Then identify the clinician responsible for reviewing it. Receiving or filing a document is not evidence that someone has interpreted it. If the ordering clinician is absent, follow the hospital's cover arrangement and record who accepted the handover.
Carry forward unfinished work
For every open item, state the next administrative action, owner and follow-up agreed by the clinical team. Use the hospital's established urgent-result process for urgent concerns; do not wait for a routine tracker review. This template supplies no universal clinical deadline and no rule for interpreting a result.
What each field means
- Request and patient reference
- Use references that lead authorised staff to the original request and correct visit. A patient may have several requests, so the patient name alone is not enough.
- Destination and handover
- Record where the request went and how that handover occurred. If the patient has not attended the laboratory, keep the status accurate rather than assuming completion.
- Report received
- The date and receiver of the returned report, with its controlled record location. Record a partial report as partial and identify what still needs to be returned.
- Review owner / review recorded
- Who is responsible for clinical review and where completion is documented. An administrative tick should follow the clinical record, not stand in for a clinician's decision.
- Next action
- A specific step, person and agreed follow-up time. Close the administrative item only when its recorded tasks are complete; clinical follow-up continues in the clinical record.
Completed fictional example
This fictional request remains open after the report is received. No test result or treatment is supplied. The dates illustrate event order, not a recommended clinical turnaround time.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Patient / visit reference | Fictional folder F-0042 / visit V-31 |
| Request / ordering clinician | L-018 / Clinician A |
| Destination laboratory | Fictional Laboratory B |
| Request handover / date | Given to patient through agreed process / 8 September |
| Report received / by | 9 September, 11:00 / Staff B |
| Report location / completeness | Clinical record L-018 / report received |
| Clinician responsible for review | Clinician C, covering Clinician A |
| Handover accepted / recorded | 9 September, 11:10 / recorded in clinical record |
| Clinical review recorded at | Pending |
| Next administrative action / owner | Staff B to confirm review handover completion with Clinician C |
| Follow-up time agreed by clinical team | Recorded in the hospital's handover |
| Administrative status | Open: report received, review pending |
Related resources
Sources and review
The worksheet design and examples are RizCare's recommendations. The sources below support the background discussion; they do not endorse this form.
- Laboratory Quality Management System handbook, section 5-5 (World Health Organization; copy hosted by The Global Health Network). Read 9 September 2026.