> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.phbhealth.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sensitive results and release

> How a lab result goes from order to patient, and why some results wait for the ordering clinician.

This page explains the rules behind lab release. For the steps, see [Enter and release results](/guides/lab/enter-and-release-results) and [Lab orders and results](/guides/doctor/lab-orders-and-results). For the whole journey, see [Lab test loop](/workflows/lab-test-loop).

<Note>
  **Status: the mechanism is live. Which tests count as sensitive, and the legal basis for holding them, are awaiting clinical sign-off.**
</Note>

## The order of events

1. A doctor places the **order**.
2. The lab receives the **specimen**.
3. The `lab_tech` enters results and saves them as a **draft**. A draft is not visible to anyone outside the lab.
4. A verified scientist signs and **releases** the results.

## Release needs a verified MLSCN licence

Only a verified MLSCN scientist can sign and release. Without one, PHB refuses with **Only a verified MLSCN scientist can sign and release a result.** If there is no draft to release, it says **There is no draft result to release — enter results first.**

## Two gates

Release happens in two steps.

| Gate | Who | Effect |
| - | - | - |
| Gate 1: sign and release | The lab, with a verified MLSCN licence | The result is signed. The ordering doctor can see it. A non-sensitive result is also visible to the patient. |
| Gate 2: release to patient | The ordering clinician | A held sensitive result becomes visible to the patient. |

On release, PHB classifies each result. A sensitive result is signed and available to the doctor, but it is **held** from the patient. The reason is that some results should be delivered by a person, with counselling, and not appear cold on a screen.

## Held results

Only the clinician who placed the order, and only a verified clinician, can release a held result (**Release to patient** on the **Labs** tab). See [Lab orders and results](/guides/doctor/lab-orders-and-results).

* **The patient sees nothing.** Not the result and not the test name. If every result on an order is held, the whole order is invisible to the patient.
* **Print excludes it.** The lab's result slip contains non-sensitive results only.

## If PHB cannot classify a result

It fails closed. A result with no coded test and no coded values, such as a photo or PDF upload, is treated as sensitive and held until a clinician reviews it. It is never released automatically.

## What is not built

There is no automatic release after a delay. There is no cancel option for a lab order.

<Warning>
  If a patient asks why a result is missing, do not describe or confirm it. Ask the ordering clinician to arrange the conversation.
</Warning>


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.