Critical results escalation

Purpose

During the analysis of a sample, if the lab detects such an abnormal level in one biomarker that they consider it an immediate risk to the patient's life, they will trigger the critical results escalation flow with Hurdle. Its purpose is to ensure that the patient gets contacted by a doctor as soon as possible.

Process overview

This process happens outside of (and in parallel with) the regular processing of results.

The sequence of events is as follows:

1. the lab detects a critical result for a biomarker and immediately triggers the escalation process
2. the lab produces the list of biomarker results available at this point - if some results are still pending, they still go ahead immediately, with the information available at that point in time. These results are shared with Hurdle through a special escalation channel(*)
3. Hurdle then gathers the patient's contact details from the corresponding records
4. Hurdle forwards the biomarker results, as well as the contact details, to a partner doctor(**); this happens all automatically with no human involved needed in the process, in a matter of minutes
5. the patient is then contacted by the doctor within 30 minutes at most
6. the doctor will explain the situation and provide advice, such as going to a hospital to seek further assistance.

(*) Each lab has their own constraints on how to make this happen. Hurdle agrees on the best technical approach with each lab, ensuring in every case that escalations will be handled without delay or risk of a bottleneck in the process. No lab goes live without this process being agreed upon and tested.

(**) By default, Hurdle works with an affiliate network of CQC-registered doctors who are available to call patients immediately when needed. On demand, our customers can replace that network and become the contact point (email and SMS will be used to notify of incoming cases).

Applicability

All Hurdle tests are covered by this process by default.