A large consumer healthcare services company needed handwritten COVID-19 test requisitions converted into structured data quickly enough to support nationwide lab-result delivery. ARDEM scaled the workflow from approximately 5,000 forms per week to 20,000 forms per day while processing received forms within a 12-hour cycle.
MANAGED TEST REQUISITION PROCESSING CASE STUDY
Scaling Test Requisition Processing to 20,000 Forms Per Day Through a Managed Healthcare Workflow
20,000/day
Forms processed
12 hours
Processing cycle
5,000/wk
Starting volume
OCR + ICR
With human review
Overview
A large consumer-centric home and retail healthcare services company needed to process COVID-19 test requisitions quickly enough to support accurate lab results for nationwide consumers within 48 hours. The requisition workflow was a critical link between test collection, patient and specimen data, and downstream result delivery.
The Challenge
Demand increased rapidly, while the forms were predominantly handwritten and included patient demographics, barcodes, facility information, and other requisition details. OCR alone could not reliably capture every field, and the client needed the operation to scale without allowing unclear handwriting, missing information, or production volume to slow the testing cycle.
The client faced a surge-volume healthcare document bottleneck. Test requisition forms had to move quickly from receipt into structured data, but handwritten entries and variable form quality made fully automated capture unreliable. Delayed or incomplete processing could slow the availability of patient and testing information required downstream.
The ARDEM Solution
ARDEM created a managed healthcare document workflow combining immediate intake, OCR and ICR-assisted capture, template-based field extraction, trained human review, quality management, and scalable production control. The operation ramped from an average of 5,000 forms per week to 20,000 forms per day while processing received forms within a 12-hour cycle.
ARDEM built and operated a controlled processing lane for time-sensitive COVID-19 test requisitions. The model connected immediate intake, OCR and ICR-assisted capture, template-based extraction, human review, quality management, analyst training, scalable capacity, and delivery within the required cycle.
Download the Full
Test Requisition Processing
Case Study
Test Requisition Processing
Case Study
For COOs, VP Operations leaders, healthcare operations executives, data operations leaders, compliance teams, and organizations managing handwritten or surge-driven medical documents.
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Why ARDEM
Received requisitions entered the processing cycle as soon as they arrived.
Recognition technology accelerated field identification where source quality allowed.
Analysts completed and checked data that automation could not reliably capture.
Patient, barcode, facility, and related data were standardized.
Extracted information was mapped into a consistent client-compatible file.
Recruitment, training, quality management, and production expansion were managed together.Managed Workflow Diagram
The Results
ARDEM scaled test requisition processing from approximately 5,000 forms per week to an average of 20,000 forms per day while processing received forms within a 12-hour cycle. The managed workflow combined OCR and ICR-assisted capture with trained human review, standardized critical-field extraction, client-compatible output, quality management, recruitment, training, and surge-capacity planning to support the client’s broader 48-hour lab-result objective.
The 20,000 Daily Forms Were Only the Visible Problem
The Larger Risk Was Letting Handwritten Data and Surge Demand Disrupt the Testing Cycle
The client needed accurate patient, barcode, facility, and specimen-related data to move quickly enough to support downstream testing.
Handwriting and variable source quality made OCR-only processing unreliable, while the surge from about 5,000 forms per week to 20,000 per day created a major capacity and training challenge.
Temporary staff or automation alone would not create standardized capture, human validation, quality management, analyst training, surge planning, and turnaround governance.
ARDEM created a managed test requisition workflow around immediate intake, OCR and ICR-assisted capture, human validation, critical-field extraction, template-based output, quality management, analyst training, and surge scaling. The operation expanded from about 5,000 forms per week to 20,000 per day and processed received forms within 12 hours.
1
Immediate Intake
Entered received forms into the processing cycle without avoidable delay.
2
OCR and ICR Capture
Used recognition tools to identify defined requisition fields.
3
Human Review
Completed and checked data that handwriting made difficult to capture.
4
Critical-Field Extraction
Captured patient, barcode, facility, and other required data.
5
Template Output Control
Mapped information into a standardized client-compatible file.
6
Training, Quality, and Surge Control
Managed analyst expansion, quality oversight, and 12-hour turnaround discipline.
What You’ll See in the Full PDF
The full case study explains:
- How handwritten requisitions entered the workflow without avoidable delay
- How OCR and ICR were used where source quality supported recognition
- Why trained human review remained necessary for critical fields
- How patient, barcode, facility, and related data were standardized
- How ARDEM managed recruitment, training, quality, and surge planning
- How processing scaled to 20,000 forms per day within a 12-hour cycle
Managing Surge-Volume Healthcare Forms Under Tight Turnaround?
Download the case study to see how a managed human-in-the-loop workflow can connect intake, recognition technology, review, quality, training, and surge capacity.