OpenSpecimen has additional features for easy distribution, returning specimens, reserving specimens for distribution, etc. This page will guide you through the features.

Consent Validation

Consents are validated before distribution by setting required consent statements at DP and CP levels.

The system will allow distributing the specimens only if:

The consents statements added to DP match with the CP statements whose specimens are to be distributed (The number of CP consent statements can be greater than DP)
Consent responses are ‘Yes’ for all these statements under the participants of specimens being distributed

For example:

Consent at CP level

Consent at DP level

As the Consent statement at CP and DP level match and the response to them is yes.

The system allows the distribution of the specimens as all of the above requirements are met.

Similarly, consider another DP with different consents

As the consent statements are not matched, the below error is displayed while distributing the specimens with this DP:

For versions above v7.0 having EDC plugin deployed, the consent validation rules can be added referring to Consent Validation during Distribution.

Configure Order Specimens UI Limit

You can configure the maximum number of specimens added using the UI, whose details can be edited at the time of distribution. Once configured, if the number of specimens to be distributed is less than the limit set, the 'Specimens' list will display all the specimens.

From this page, you can edit the specimen details like quantity, cost, etc. 'Copy first to all' option for 'Distribution Quantity' and 'Holding Location' can be used to copy the first value to all rows so that the user need not input it for each row manually.

In case the number of specimens scanned is more than the UI limit, the system will display an informative message like this:

Steps

Log in as 'Super Administrator' role.
Go to the home page and click on the 'Settings' card.
Click on the 'Administrative' module or search for the property 'Order Specimens UI Limit.'
Click on the property 'Order Specimens UI Limit.'

5. Specify the maximum number of specimens whose details can be edited at the time of distribution under the 'New Value' field, and click on the 'Update' button.

Report

Researchers will need data about the distributed specimens. The data needs of each project could be different. OpenSpecimen allows the administrators to configure these reports at the system level or DP level and download them after distribution.

At system Level

Super Admins can configure the report by specifying the saved query's identifier, created with all the necessary fields. Go to Home→ Settings→ Common→ Distribution Report, specify the saved query's identifier, and update the property.

At DP Level

Every DP can have a customized report based on the data needs of the project. This is configured by first creating an advanced query with all the necessary fields in the results view and then selecting it under the field ‘Order Report Query' while creating a 'Distribution Protocol.’

Download Distribution Report

You can export a distribution report in CSV format by clicking on the "Download report."

Create Query for Order-level Custom Fields

Order level custom fields can be queried using the query interface and displayed on the query results page.

You will only be able to query the custom form fields attached at the system level. There is no option to create a query on the form attached at the DP level in the field 'Order Custom Fields'

Download Order Report

Navigate to the 'Orders' section, choose the specific order, and click 'Download Report'.

Reserve Specimens

Often, specimens are collected for a specific researcher or a project. You can use this feature to reserve specimens to ensure that they are not distributed to a different project. When the specimens are marked as reserved, they can't be distributed to any other distribution protocols (DP).

Mark specimens as reserved for a DP
View list of specimens reserved for a DP
Distribute reserved specimens
Cancel reservation

Select the specimens from any specimen list page, click the 'Actions' button, and then click the 'distribute' option.

E.g., Reserve specimens from the cart.

Enter the Distribution Protocol (DP) details.
Click the 'Reserve' tab at the bottom of the pop-up.

Once reserved, the specimen has the 'Reserved' status in purple on the specimen overview page and a 'Reserved Event' added.

Reserved specimens cannot be edited, distributed to a different protocol or processed into further child specimens.

View Reserved Specimens

Within a distribution protocol, a user can view all the specimens reserved for that DP. To view the reserved specimens, click the 'Reserved Specimens' tab.

Distribute Reserved Specimens

You can distribute the reserved specimens in one go, or select the specimens to be distributed from the DP page.

Cancel Reservation

If required, the reservation can also be cancelled so that it can be utilized for other DPs. To cancel the reservation, select the specimen and click the 'Cancel reservation' tab. Once cancelled, the 'Reservation Cancelled Event' is logged on the specimen.

Validation

All validations that happen during specimen distribution are done during reservation as well. This prevents the user from getting errors before distribution. Some of the validations include:

Consents validation.
DP being used for the specimens reservation is having a distribution site the same as the CP site.
User has access to reserve specimens(same privilege as distribution privilege).

Return Specimens

In some cases, researchers return the remaining specimens after research to the lab. To support this workflow, OpenSpecimen allows marking such specimens as ‘Returned.’

These specimens can be:

Put back to the storage location.
Automatically updated with the returned quantity as available quantity.
Marked as available again.
Updated with freeze/thaw cycles.

To return specimens in OpenSpecimen, click on 'Return Specimens' on the 'Orders' list page and enter the list of specimens that are returned:

Return Specimens in Bulk

Return specimens data can also be bulk uploaded for many orders at a time using the 'Return Specimens' template downloaded from UI.

For more details on how to use bulk upload, refer to 'Return specimen template.'

Retrieve Specimens

When the specimen is held in a temporary storage location after distribution, an option to 'Retrieve' such specimens appears on the 'Specimens' tab of the 'Orders' page. This option retrieves the specimen from the holding location, and a final transfer event is added to the specimen.

When the specimens are in a holding location, a pick distributed specimens email notification is sent to the following users associated with the order:

Requestor
Distributor
DP Principal Investigator
DP Coordinators
Receiving site coordinators.

Specimen Events

After you click on the 'Distribute' option from the above 'Create Order' screen, a few events are added for each distributed specimen. These events are useful for creating reports or audit purposes.

Bulk Upload

Distribution data can also be bulk uploaded for many orders at a time using CSV files. E.g., for legacy data migration.

Edit Orders (New in v7.1)

Filter Orders

You can filter out orders from the orders list view page. This can be helpful if you want to search for all orders from a particular ‘Receiving Institute', 'Distribution Protocol’, etc.

Order Notification Email (v8.0)

When specimens are distributed, an email containing the order details is sent to the users. The email also contains a link to view more details of the order and an attachment of distributed specimens CSV file. From v10.3 the emails will also display an additional sender comments field mentioning the details entered in the ‘comments’ field while distributing the specimens.

Order Email Attachment Options (v8.1)

You can choose the report type to be sent in the order processed email notification.

Additional Distribution Features