PRACTICE OPERATIONS / AGENT 008

Lab Case Tracking Agent

Catch a late lab case before the patient is in the chair.

BUILDConnected build
CONTROLControlled PHI access
THE JOB

Every active lab case has a status, expected date, appointment link, and exception owner.

Tracks outbound cases, expected return dates, appointment dependencies, late items, and unresolved communication with the lab.

AGENT ANATOMY

What it sees, decides, and does.

01 / TRIGGER

A lab case is created, updated, reaches a checkpoint, or approaches a linked appointment.

02 / CONTEXT
  • Case and lab identifiers
  • Sent and expected dates
  • Linked appointment
  • Approved status and escalation rules
03 / DECISION
  • On track, confirmation needed, late, remake, or staff review
  • When to contact the lab
  • Appointment risk level
  • Correct internal owner
04 / ACTION
  • Update the case tracker
  • Send an approved status request
  • Alert staff to appointment risk
  • Produce the daily exception list
HUMAN CONTROL

The agent knows when to stop.

These boundaries belong in the scope, tests, permissions, and operating log. They are not a disclaimer added after the build.

HUMAN GATE

A person reviews

  • Clinical specifications
  • Remake authorization
  • Changing the patient appointment
  • Discussing case details beyond approved fields
EXCEPTION

The agent escalates

  • No lab portal or structured status
  • Case identifier mismatch
  • Delivery date conflicts with appointment
  • Lab response requires clinical interpretation
NEVER AUTONOMOUS

Outside the agent’s authority

  • Change a prescription or clinical specification
  • Reschedule a patient autonomously
  • Send unnecessary patient information
  • Mark a case received without evidence
DEFINED OUTCOME

Measure the job, not the novelty.

01Cases with a current status
02Late cases detected before appointment day
03Appointments at risk
04Average time to resolve exceptions
AGENT OR PERSON?

The workflow may still need a virtual assistant.

AGENT

Use for the predictable path.

Monitoring, structured checks, approved messages, routing, logging, and repeated follow-up.

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

Use for context and conversation.

Ambiguous responses, relationship work, judgment, persuasion, and exceptions that change from case to case.

HYBRID

Let the agent build the queue.

The agent handles the predictable path. A trained person receives a clean exception list with the context needed to finish the work.

EVIDENCE

Why this workflow matters.

Sources support the operating need and safety boundary. They do not prove that every practice should build this agent.

START WITH THE WORK

Bring us the recurring job.

We will map it, test the alternatives, and define what an agent should own only if an agent is the right answer.

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