Rx Due Date
Posted on 08/17/2011
No matter which lab you use, one field that will appear on virtually every Rx is the "due date" field. This date refers to the doctor's due date - i.e. when he/she wants the case back in the office.
The confusing part about this date is that it is often ambiguous by time - for example, some offices will write: "one week" or "two weeks" as the due date. Or, other offices will write an actual date, but not a time.
Writing a time frame like "one week" is not advisable as it leads to ambiguity in regards to the start date - is it one week from when the doctor sent the case, or one week from when the lab received the case. Indeed, most labs calculate turnaround time as "working days in lab" - which means from the date they receive the impression, they require 5 or 7 business days in lab to complete the case. This time does not include the transit time to return the case back to the doctor's office.
Writing a date without a time can also be misleading - as there are situations where a doctor's office has the patient scheduled on the due date for 12pm, but the case will not arrive until 5pm.
As a result, some labs put the text: "Due by 5pm on:" and encourage the practice to assume the case will not arrive until 5pm.
We suggest the following protocol:
1. Always include an actual due date on the Rx and preferably include a time as well.
2. Schedule your patient for a day or two after the due date you write on the Rx.
3. Try to calculate the time needed to complete the case using your lab's schedule and based on the date the lab should receive the case. For example, if you send out a case on a Monday and it should arrive on Tuesday in lab, and the lab requests 5 working days to complete the case, assume you will not get the case back until the following Wednesday. So schedule your patient for the following Thursday.
The confusing part about this date is that it is often ambiguous by time - for example, some offices will write: "one week" or "two weeks" as the due date. Or, other offices will write an actual date, but not a time.
Writing a time frame like "one week" is not advisable as it leads to ambiguity in regards to the start date - is it one week from when the doctor sent the case, or one week from when the lab received the case. Indeed, most labs calculate turnaround time as "working days in lab" - which means from the date they receive the impression, they require 5 or 7 business days in lab to complete the case. This time does not include the transit time to return the case back to the doctor's office.
Writing a date without a time can also be misleading - as there are situations where a doctor's office has the patient scheduled on the due date for 12pm, but the case will not arrive until 5pm.
As a result, some labs put the text: "Due by 5pm on:" and encourage the practice to assume the case will not arrive until 5pm.
We suggest the following protocol:
1. Always include an actual due date on the Rx and preferably include a time as well.
2. Schedule your patient for a day or two after the due date you write on the Rx.
3. Try to calculate the time needed to complete the case using your lab's schedule and based on the date the lab should receive the case. For example, if you send out a case on a Monday and it should arrive on Tuesday in lab, and the lab requests 5 working days to complete the case, assume you will not get the case back until the following Wednesday. So schedule your patient for the following Thursday.
