The specimen list-view is accessed from the Specimens option on the main navigation bar (on the left-hand-side of the screen, accessed via the burger menu icon on a phone). It is the main area of the system for managing specimens and, unfiltered, contains the list of all specimens that are either pending arrival at the lab (if remotely registered), ready to be processed, being actively worked on in some way or awaiting diagnostic sign-off. Once specimens have reached a terminal state, e.g. they have been rejected as non-viable or have received final approval, they are moved to the specimen <link>Specimen Archive</link>, the subject of a separate article.
For information on the properties and capabilities common to all list-view types, see <link>List Views</link>. The specimen list-view has the following additional capabilities:
Specimen Workflow Enforcement
In contrast with other list-view screens, the per-record actions available on the specimen list-view can vary from one specimen to another. This is due to workflow state. For example, the two specimens in the following image are in different states and this determines the available actions. As specimen 14 is in Specimen Received state, actions such as Direct Tests and Add Culture are available. However, as specimen 37 is still in Pending Arrival state (the physical specimen has not yet arrived at the lab), the principal actions available are restricted to Acknowledge Receipt and Cancel Request.
Batch Processing
Although not inherently specific to specimen processing, only the specimen list-view currently features operations that can be batched, i.e. applied to multiple specimens with a single action. If multiple specimen records are simultaneously selected*, the Batch Processing drop-down action will appear in the action row, to the right of Add Specimen. Selecting this option will reveal the set of specimen actions that can be used to process multiple specimens as a batch. This list currently includes: Batch Submit, Batch First Approval and Batch Second Approval. If one of these options is selected, the same form will appear as in the non-batched case, but saving or submitting the form will result in the corresponding action being performed on all selected specimens in one go.
* Multiple specimens can be simultaneously selected either by holding down the Ctrl key when selecting additional rows, by holding down the Shift key when selecting an additional row (in which case all intermediate rows also also selected), by holding down the Shift key while pressing the Up Arrow or Down Arrow, or by clicking to the far-left of the column headings row (which selects all currently displayed records).