Lextox - Online Appointment Management System

Lextox provide hair, blood and DNA testing services for illegal drugs, excessive alcohol and paternity verification. 

Over 7,000 family law solicitors and local authorities across the UK trust Lextox for their exceptional service, test and analysis response times. 

Key to this project is the fact that each test requires a Lextox authorised ‘Collector’ to retrieve the organic sample personally from the individual concerned in a pre-arranged appointment. 

To manage the growing volume of test ‘collection appointments’ being processed, an automated and streamlined online system was required to manage appointments, record appointment details and status, schedule and allocate appointments to collectors while also generating the required paperwork and automated emails. 

A background service application was also required to integrate the new Gravit-e appointments database to the in-house Sage CRM and Sage 200 accounts system. 

The project was split into two major phases; the internal (web based) appointments scheduler for Lextox staff and the external (app based) appointments scheduler for use by clients. 

In order to collect the sample of hair, blood or DNA for testing, an authorized Lextox ‘collector’ is assigned to a ‘collection appointment’. 

Lextox administration users can start the collection appointment process by raising a quotation for the client (e.g., law firm) on the web application. Once a quotation is accepted, the user can progress to creating the collection appointment and assigning it to an appropriate ‘collector’ who receives an automated confirmation email. 

The appointment details include the type (hair drugs, blood alcohol, etc.), personal details and contact information of the person providing the sample, and the client details. 

The appointment is scheduled according to available date/time slots presented to the user and will depend upon a series of criteria, such as the required collector’s skill set (e.g. phlebotomist for blood), proximity of the appointment to the collector (automatically excluding those too far away), time required and existing appointments, etc.  Meanwhile, ‘special’ and same day appointments can be arranged via a manual override feature.

Wherever required, the Gravit-e application is in communication with Lextox' Sage systems, reading client details, costs and special prices or creating quotations within Sage 200 and appointments within CRM.

The database of appointments can be searched and viewed showing the details and status (e.g. new, requested, collected) of each booking. Lextox administrators are then able to amend appointment details, although some restrictions are applied to maintain the integrity of the schedule, and where necessary  appointments can be cancelled. 

There is also provision for collectors to access the system through a secure login which provides them with the ability to review and retrieve their appointments and provide status updates. 

The system maintains several sub-sets of data such as authorised collectors' details, including a profile of their normal availability; collection kits, available and used; service types, with time required and fulfilment questions; collectors expenses, such as mileage and parking; and so on. 

A considerable amount of code has been created to manage and process all the system data securely and efficiently while ensuring ease of use for users. 

To help drive up efficiency in the collection service scheduling, a background service has been written which optimises the schedule based on the collection point location and potential collectors (with appropriate skill sets) nearby. The system will allocate or reallocate appointments to collectors based on minimising travel time thereby reducing costs and creating additional time for further appointments.

Lextox are also able to create their own in-house management reports for collector and appointment analysis, as well as any other ad-hoc report requirements they may have.

The second phase of the project provides Lextox clients (such as law firms and local authorities) with remote external access to the appointments booking system via a smart phone or tablet device.

Following a registration process and through a secure login, clients can:

•     Request a new test and collection appointment
•     Request a test and appointment quotation
•     Review and accept open quotations
•     Review their existing appointments
•     Update or cancel appointments
•     See urgent news and updates from Lextox
•     Receive notifications when the status of a case changes
•     Contact Lextox
•     Manage their account security

The functionality provided to clients using the app largely replicates the functionality of the relevant processes with the internal system described above.

In addition, app users can also generate a basic ‘quick quote’ by answering a small number of questions. The app will display the calculated costs based on the client's specific product pricing directly from the integration to Sage 200.

It is envisaged that as Lextox follow a continuous improvement strategy for their business, it will in turn result in further enhancement and additional functionality being added to the Gravit-e systems.