We've made ordering an Ellie Diagnostics service from a SOAP super simple: it's almost identical to adding a normal product or service to a patient's record—albeit with some Ellie Diagnostics-specific steps that you'll be familiar with.
Adding and Administering an Ellie Diagnostics service to a Tx plan
If you've added treatments to a patient's record, this part of the process will look familiar to you.
Open the patient's active SOAP
Navigate to the 'Plan' section
Scroll to 'Order Treatments'
Search for and select the Ellie Diagnostics service you want to add
Select the 'Add' button to add it to the Tx plan
Select the 'Administer' icon
This will generate an Ellie Diagnostics modal
Note: If you ordered multiple in-house or reference Ellie Diagnostics tests, you will want to click the blue Administer Treatments button to bulk administer the tests.
You must order all in-house or all reference labs to bulk administer tests. Otherwise, you can individually administer each test by clicking the Administer icon under Actions.
Ordering the Ellie Diagnostics Services
Ellie Diagnostics has its own unique modal that appears when you add a reference Ellie Diagnostics service (or services) to a patient's Tx plan.
In the modal, you'll need to:
Add the Specimen Date
Select the provider
Not seeing the veterinarian you need? Providers must be added to your Ellie Diagnostics account.
Add Specimen details
Urine Collection Method (required for some labs)
Specimen Source
Add any Clinical History or Requisition notes (optional)
Select 'Save'
Saving will populate a Requisition form in a new tab. You can then print that form and send it with samples.
Removing an Ellie Diagnostic Service from a SOAP
If you need to remove the Ellie Diagnostics service from a treatment plan:
Open the SOAP
Navigate to the Plan
Open the Tx History
Click the 'Undo' button on the right under actions
Note: you'll still need to cancel the lab within Ellie. This popup will remind you:
Ordering an Ellie Diagnostic Service Without the Integration
If you've already ordered a service directly within Ellie Diagnostics and want to make sure it's added to the patient's invoice, you're able to order services without using the integration.
Open the patient's active SOAP
Navigate to the 'Plan' section
Scroll to 'Order Treatments'
Search for and select the Ellie Diagnostics service you want to add
Select the 'Add' button
Select the 'Edit' icon under 'Actions' in the Tx plan
From here:
Toggle the 'Administer Without Ellie Diagnostics Integration' to the on position
Adjust the priority and add additional instructions (if needed)
Select 'Save'
Administer the treatment in the Tx Plan
🧩 Best Practices for a Smooth Integration Experience
🧪 Pre-Paid Fecal Tests
To streamline prepaid fecal test submissions, we recommend the following:
Provide clients with a fecal container, biohazard bag, and a completed requisition form that includes the correct fecal test code.
When the sample is returned, do not use a completion code—these are only necessary when finalizing a full panel.
This approach reduces confusion and ensures accurate processing without unnecessary steps.
🔁 NOVA vs. Shepherd Ordering
Understanding how orders sync between NOVA and Shepherd is key to maintaining data consistency:
Orders placed in NOVA:
➤ Will not write back into Shepherd.Orders placed in Shepherd:
➤ Will write back into NOVA.
💡 Best Practice:
For the most seamless and efficient workflow, submit all orders through Shepherd. This ensures that both systems stay synchronized and minimizes manual reconciliation.