Introduction
Sometimes specimens are taken out of a box, but you also want to block the position in the box to keep it back.
The process of retrieving a specimen from a box and blocking the position is called 'Specimen check-out'. Similarly, the process of storing it back at its original location is called 'Specimen check-in'.
Earlier, when a specimen was retrieved, the box position was vacated and someone could use that position for a different specimen.
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Check-out specimens
You can check out/in specimens from multiple places using the 'Actions' button.
List pages
All specimen list pages have the ‘Action → Retrieve' option. This now has an additional checkbox for check-out.
Select specimen>> Click on ‘Action’>> Select 'Retrieve'
Specimen list page
Specimen cart list page
Container list page
Query Result page
Overview page
Specimen can be directly checked-out from the specimen overview page
From the Specimen overview page, click on ‘More' and select 'Checkout’
Note: Check ou option is not visible if specimen is not stored in a box
Check-out status
In OpenSpecimen, specimens are marked with a checked-out status to facilitate easier identification.
When the samples are checked out, there is a transfer event added with the storage status as ‘CHECK-OUT’
From the specimen overview page click on to the 'Transfer Event'
The container position is blocked with the specimen label and cannot be used to store any other sample until the position is unblocked
3. Specimen status updated to ‘Checked Out’ on overview page
Check-in specimens
Specimen can be checked in from the overview page individually.
Using the 'Transfer' option multiple specimens can be checked-in. The original location is populated automatically for such specimens.
Unblock checked-out specimen position
You can unblock the check-out specimen positions from the container in bulk. For example: The specimens were distributed and not returned back, the container positions that were blocked during distribution check-out need to be freed for utilization.
Option 1
Navigate to the container list page->Actions->Unblock
You can either add labels or barcodes for which the positions are to be unblocked.
On adding the labels, the blocked positions will be displayed. These will be unblocked once you click on ‘Unblock’
Option 2
Navigate to the container locations tab of a container that has blocked positions and click on ‘Unblock All’ to vacate all the blocked positions.
Distribution
You can check out specimens while distributing specimens from user interface and via bulk import as well.
Select the specimen, click on ‘Action' and select 'Distribute’
Return
Specimens listed in the order can be returned to their original locations from which they were checked out during distribution.
From the distribution protocol page navigate to the orders by clicking on 'View Orders'
Click on ‘Return Specimens’
Add labels or barcodes of the specimens that were checked-out during distribution and are to be returned.
For the samples that were checked out, the container location will be auto-populated. Once you click on submit the specimen gets returned and stored in the location specified.
Bulk Import
You can using bulk import ‘Update’ function to check-out the specimens in bulk. Please refer to the below reference 'Specimen' CSV to check out the samples. Refer to wiki page for more details.
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To check-in the specimens, you need to provide values in the ‘Location#Container’, ‘Location#Column' and ‘Location#Row' fields.
Similarly for distribution, you need to add yes/true in the ‘Checkout Specimens’ column to check-out specimens while distribution.
Query module
You can query for the checked-out samples by adding the below mentioned filter
The query result will provide you with a list of specimens that were checked out.
