E-Labs Direct: Authorized Representatives and Guarantors Support

Minors and patients who are not the insurance policyholder require responsible party details before an E-Labs Direct order can be placed.

Healthie enables organizations to store authorized representative and guarantor details within a client’s contacts for ordering E-Labs Direct labs for minors and for clients who are not the insurance policyholder. Providers can then add or select the contact directly from the lab order, without leaving their clinical workflow. 

Who needs an authorized representative or guarantor

• Authorized E-Labs contact: Required to order E-Labs Direct labs for a client under 18. Optional for adults.
• Guarantor: Required when the order is billed to patient insurance and the client is not the policyholder. A guarantor can be any adult contact, regardless of the client’s age.

The authorized E-Labs contact and the guarantor can be the same person or two different people.

Contacts who are minors cannot be designated for either role.

Setting a Contact as an Authorized Representative or Guarantor

1. Open the client’s profile > click on the Actions tab 
2. Locate Family & Contacts
3. Click the [...] for an existing contact or click Add contact
4. For a new contact, enter the contact’s first name, last name, phone number, address, contact type and relationship.
5. Check the Financially responsible (Guarantor) box, Authorized E-Labs Direct contact box, or both.
6. Click Save

Any team member who can edit the client’s contacts can do this. It does not require lab ordering access. The role options appear for organizations with E-Labs Direct enabled. 

Replace a designated contact

Each client can have one guarantor and one authorized E-Labs contact at a time. If you designate a different contact for a role that is already filled, the Edit contact side panel names the current contact. To make a replacement:

• Click on the [...] for the desired contact or click +Add Contact 
• Check the Financially responsible (Guarantor) and/or Authorized E-Labs Direct contact checkbox with the Edit contact side panel
• Click Save 

Order labs for a minor

1. Make sure the client has an authorized E-Labs contact on their profile.
2. Start a new lab order from the client’s profile or Quick Profile, and select E-Labs Direct.
3. You’ll see within the ordering side sheet that the Authorized E-LAbs Direct contact appears at the top.
4. Complete the order. The authorized contact appears in the order for reference. 

If a minor has no authorized E-Labs contact, the E-Labs Direct button is disabled. A tooltip tells you to add one from the client’s profile first. The authorized contact can’t be chosen or created inside the order, so add it from Family & Contacts.

Order labs billed to patient insurance

1. In the order form, select Patient Insurance from the Billing type dropdown.
2. If the policyholder is not the client, a guarantor field appears. If the client already has a guarantor, it shows as a card. Otherwise, pick one of the client’s adult contacts or select Add new.
3. If the contact you select is missing a phone number or complete address, an error message will appear with an Edit contact button. Click the Edit contact button to enter the missing information. The guarantor role stays selected and the contact type is locked.
4. Click Save to store the contact information for the guarantor 
5. Complete the remaining sections of the E-Labs Direct order and submit your order. 

Sections of the order unlock from top to bottom, and you can’t submit until every required section is complete. Patient Insurance does not appear as a billing option when the client has no primary insurance policy on file.

Where to find designations

A Guarantor or Authorized E-Labs contact badge appears next to the contact in Family & Contacts, and in the client’s quick profile. Anyone who can view the client’s profile can see these badges. 

Best practice recommendations

• Add the authorized E-Labs contact before you start an order for a minor.
• Confirm the contact’s name, phone number, and address are current before you submit.
• When creating or editing a contact, check the Same as Pediatric box when the contact shares an address with the client.
• Review your contacts when custody, foster care, or guardianship changes, and replace the designated contact as needed.

FAQs

Can I order labs through Packages for minors and clients who are not the policy holder?

No, this support only impacts E-Labs Direct through the Client Profile.

Can there be more than one authorized representative or guarantor designated for a client?

No, there can be one contact designated for each. The same contact can be designated as both the authorized representative and guarantor.