> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Lab workflow

> Choose which laboratory workflow your bench runs — standard clinical, full DOT/SAMHSA, reference-lab intake only, or both — and switch safely.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['lims']} roles="Owner, manager or accountant" />

**Lab Workflow** decides which laboratory module your staff see. It is the one settings tab that exists only on a Diagnostics workspace. This page is about choosing and switching the mode — for running DOT testing itself, see [DOT drug testing](/lims/dot/index).

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Settings', 'Laboratory', 'Lab Workflow']} />

<TaskHeader before="Agreement on which kind of work the lab does, and a moment when nobody is mid-order" time="Under a minute to switch; a reload for everyone else" after="A bench running the right workflow, with existing orders untouched" />

## What this tab controls

The card's own scope note reads: "Determines which laboratory module is shown to your staff. Switching modes does not delete any data — orders remain in their original workflow."

| Control                                                    | What it does                                                                                                                                                          | Default               |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| **Standard Clinical Lab**                                  | "In-house lab orders for clinical care. No DOT-specific workflow."                                                                                                    | Selected on a new lab |
| **DOT / SAMHSA — Full Workflow**                           | "End-to-end federal workplace drug testing: collection → laboratory → MRO review → DER reporting."                                                                    | —                     |
| **Reference Lab — Intake to Report Only** (badged **New**) | "For laboratories that receive sealed specimens from external collection sites and produce a PDF report for an external MRO. Hides collection, MRO, and DER modules." | —                     |
| **Both — Standard + DOT Full Workflow**                    | "Clinics that do both in-house clinical lab work and DOT testing on-site."                                                                                            | —                     |
| **Reset**                                                  | Abandons an unsaved change and restores the mode currently in force.                                                                                                  | —                     |
| **Save Workflow Mode**                                     | Applies the choice.                                                                                                                                                   | —                     |

Choose on the work you actually receive. Donors coming to you means you need collection — full DOT. Sealed specimens arriving by courier with the chain-of-custody form already complete means you do not — reference lab. Doing both means **Both**, rather than switching back and forth.

## Set it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the tab">
    Under the **LABORATORY** section, open **Lab workflow** → **Lab Workflow** — "Clinical, DOT/SAMHSA or intake-only mode".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a mode">
    Choose one of the four options.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the alert, if one appears">
    Choosing **Reference Lab — Intake to Report Only** shows an alert headed **Reference Lab mode**: "This mode hides the collection, MRO review, and DER reporting modules from the DOT-LIMS sidebar. Orders move from intake → screening → confirmation → finalized PDF report. Existing in-flight orders are unaffected."
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Select **Save Workflow Mode**. The toast reads **Lab workflow updated — Reload your DOT-LIMS pages to see the new mode.**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tell the bench to reload">
    Anyone with a laboratory page already open keeps the old mode until they refresh. Say so in the room rather than waiting for someone to notice a menu that no longer matches the work.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What changes once you save

**The navigation renames itself.** In **Reference Lab** mode, **DOT Testing** in the sidebar becomes **Lab Intake** and **DOT History** becomes **Intake History**. In **Standard Clinical Lab** mode both entries disappear entirely — there is no DOT workflow to reach.

**Page headings and status filters change** to match the shape of the work. A reference lab's queue filters by intake, analysis and finalized states rather than collection and MRO review.

**Reference Lab mode reveals two more cards on this same tab** — **Lab Report Branding** and **Custom Panels**. Set both up before your first report goes out to an external Medical Review Officer.

**Nothing migrates.** Orders already in flight stay in the workflow they were raised under and finish there, so a lab that switches mid-week runs both shapes side by side until the older orders clear. That is intended, and it is what makes the switch safe to make and safe to undo.

**Nobody sees it until they reload.** The change is not pushed to open tabs.

For the full reference on intake-only working, including booking in a sealed specimen and everything the mode renames, see [Reference lab mode](/lims/dot/lab-intake-mode).

## Check it worked

* The sidebar matches the mode: **Lab Intake** and **Intake History** in reference-lab mode, **DOT Testing** and **DOT History** in full DOT mode, neither in standard clinical mode.
* The queue's status filter offers the states that belong to your mode.
* In reference-lab mode, **Lab Report Branding** and **Custom Panels** now appear on this tab.
* An order raised before the switch still shows its original stages.

## Common issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="My team still sees the old sidebar">
    They have not reloaded. The success message says so directly: **Reload your DOT-LIMS pages to see the new mode.** A refresh is all it takes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="An old order still shows MRO Review">
    Orders raised before the switch finish in the workflow they started in. Nothing was migrated and nothing was lost — let them run out.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The Lab Workflow tab is not in my settings">
    It exists only on a Diagnostics workspace. From a clinic or pharmacy workspace, a link to it lands on **General Settings** instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I cannot save the mode">
    Settings needs an owner, manager or accountant. A bench scientist cannot open the screen at all. See [Roles](/platform/team/roles).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I switched to reference-lab mode and lost the collection screens">
    They are hidden, not deleted — that is what the mode does. Switch back to **DOT / SAMHSA — Full Workflow** or to **Both** and they return after a reload.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The panel I need is missing from a new order">
    Build it under **Custom Panels** on this tab, which appears in reference-lab mode. See [MRO review and the employer report](/lims/dot/reports).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck topic="lab workflow modes" />