Requesting a Lab or Imaging Interface

Before you request a lab or imaging interface, your practice needs:

• A business relationship with the diagnostic provider
• An account number, if the provider requires one

See Working with Diagnostic Providers: Account Setup for help with that step. Once your account is active, add the provider in SigmaMD so we can configure the integration.

Adding a Diagnostic Provider

1. Go to Practice Settings › Diagnostics › Diagnostic providers.
2. Click the Provider button in the top right of the table.

The Add Provider dialog opens. Complete it once for each lab and imaging provider you want to work with.

What to Enter

• Labs or Imaging: Choose the provider type at the top of the dialog. Changing it clears the provider name, so pick it first.

  Provider name (required): Select the provider from the dropdown. If it isn’t listed, type the name and choose the Add: option below it.

  • LabCorp & Quest: each business unit is listed separately by code, for example Quest - MET or LabCorp - LCA. Choose the one you believe manages your account.

  • If a different business unit turns out to manage it, our team corrects it during setup, so you don't need to get this exactly right.

    

    Alias: Optional name your team gives this provider account, for example to tell two accounts with the same lab apart.

  • It must be 3 to 140 characters.
  • Your team sees it in the order picker, on orders and on results waiting for review. The lab and your patients always see the provider's real name.
  • Two active or pending accounts of the same type at the same location can't share an alias.
  • An alias can't match the name of another such account that has no alias. A new account without an alias can't use a name another such account already uses as its alias.
  • Capitalization doesn't matter: "quest – downtown" counts as "Quest – Downtown".
  • A conflict shows Another account at this location already uses this name or alias.
  • You can change or remove the alias later — see Editing Diagnostic Provider Connections. Orders already placed keep the alias they were sent with.
• Account number: Enter it if you have one. If you have an established relationship but no account number yet, leave it blank.

• Clinic location (required): Choose Use for all current and future locations, or select a single clinic location. See One Account or One Per Location below.

  Contact and Address: The provider facility's Fax number, Phone number, 10-digit NPI and address, all optional.

  • The fax number determines how quickly the provider becomes usable. See What Happens After You Submit below.

  • On orders sent by fax, the provider's name and these details print in the Facility section of the requisition.

    

Click Add to submit the request.

What Happens After You Submit

It depends on whether you picked the provider from the dropdown and whether you entered a fax number.

• You selected a provider from the dropdown: SigmaMD requests an electronic interface and adds the provider as Pending. Customer Success is notified automatically to set up the connection with the provider.

  You typed a new provider name and entered a fax number: the provider is set up as a fax interface and becomes Active right away.

  • You can order from it immediately.
  • The clinicians at your practice who are set up to order are notified that the provider is available.
  • Customer Success is notified for their records.
• You typed a new provider name but left the fax number blank: the provider is added as Pending. Customer Success follows up to collect the fax number before it can be used.

Providers you add by typing a new name:

• Start on a generic test compendium, which can be replaced later with your own test list — see Uploading Your Own Test Compendium for a Fax Diagnostic Provider.
• Also start with default billing and draw settings when they activate right away as fax providers — see Setting Default Billing and Draw Options for Diagnostic Providers to adjust them.

To check whether a provider already supports an electronic interface, see Diagnostic Providers Available for Electronic Integration.

Why Provide the Fax Number

If a provider can’t be integrated electronically, orders reach it by fax, so a fax number is required.

Entering it upfront lets a newly added provider become active right away, instead of waiting on a follow-up from our team.

No fax number handy? You can still submit the request without it. Customer Success will reach out to collect it, and you can also add it yourself later — see Editing Diagnostic Provider Connections.

Account Manager Details

The Add Provider dialog doesn't collect account manager details.

If you have a named account manager or sales contact at the provider, send their name and email to Customer Success with your request. Involving them often speeds up approval for an electronic integration.

One Account or One Per Location

The Clinic location field controls how the provider maps to your clinic locations. Clinicians see the same thing either way; only the account structure at the provider changes.

• One account for the whole practice: Choose Use for all current and future locations.
  • All orders and results go through a single account number, however many locations you have.

  • It's the simplest setup and works for most practices, including those working with large labs like LabCorp or Quest.

    A separate account per location: The provider manages a parent account that groups one child account per site.

  • Add the provider once for each location, select that clinic location and give it its own account number.
  • This also puts the correct ordering address on the requisition.
  • If you have more than one account with the same lab, give each one an alias so clinicians can tell them apart when ordering.

Which model you use depends on how your practice is set up at the provider, not on the size of the lab. Confirm it with your account manager before submitting, so we can configure the integration to match.

By following these steps, your practice can connect with diagnostic providers for lab and imaging orders within SigmaMD.