Kenya Lab Order Implementation Guide - Local Development build (v0.1.0) built by the FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) Build Tools. See the Directory of published versions
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This Implementation Guide (IG) consolidates guidance for exchanging laboratory orders and results in Kenya's digital health ecosystem. It complements the Kenya Core FHIR IG and leverages related national guides such as the Kenya Client Registry (KeNHA) prescription workflows, Kenya Patient Summary, and KeNHA Claims (CeClaims) packages to deliver a cohesive view of how laboratories collaborate with clinical and administrative systems.
Purpose and scope
Provide a consistent representation of laboratory orders, results, and supporting clinical context using FHIR R4.
Support referral and follow-up workflows across public and private facilities, ensuring that orders capture the requesting provider, patient demographics, and facility identifiers aligned with Kenya Core resources.
Enable downstream consumption by claims adjudication, prescription management, and longitudinal patient summaries through shared identifiers and terminology bindings.
Alignment with other Kenyan IGs
IG
Relevant contributions to lab ordering
Kenya Core FHIR IG
Supplies foundational profiles (Patient, Practitioner, Organization, Encounter) and code systems reused by this guide's laboratory-specific artifacts.
Kenya Patient Summary IG
Ensures lab orders and results can be summarized for continuity of care, including key observations and diagnostic reports.
Kenya e-Prescription IG
Aligns medication orders with associated lab investigations to support test justification and follow-up.
Kenya eClaims IG
Facilitates linking ServiceRequest, Procedure, and DiagnosticReport resources to claims submissions for reimbursement and audit trails.
Key lab order artifacts
KenyaLabOrder (ServiceRequest) – Captures the clinical question, requested tests, responsible practitioner, facility, and any specimens collected.
KenyaLabObservation (Observation) – Shares structured results, reference ranges, and interpretation tied back to the originating order.
KenyaDiagnosticReportLab (DiagnosticReport) – Aggregates observations, specimen details, and narrative findings for delivery to requesting systems.
KenyaLabProcedure (Procedure) – Describes specimen collection and processing activities performed in the laboratory workflow.
Implementation considerations
Terminology – Adopt shared value sets from Kenya Core and national coding standards (e.g., LOINC where available, locally governed catalogues otherwise).
Patient matching – Use Kenya Patient Summary identifiers (MPI, national IDs) to ensure traceable linkage between orders, claims, and longitudinal records.
Workflow coordination – Synchronize order lifecycle states (draft, active, completed, cancelled) with facility information systems and ensure DiagnosticReports reflect final sign-off by authorized practitioners.
Interoperability testing – Validate conformance using the HL7 FHIR validator and test scenarios spanning request creation, specimen collection, result reporting, and claims referencing.
Next steps
This IG is an evolving resource. Future iterations will include:
Expanded examples for common laboratory panels and point-of-care tests.
Detailed guidance on subscription-based notifications for order status changes.
Cross-IG implementation scenarios showcasing end-to-end flows from ordering through claims settlement.
Stakeholders are encouraged to contribute feedback and implementation stories to refine the guide for nationwide adoption.