AI-Enabled Test Cataloguing
From Static Spreadsheets to Smart Catalogues: How NonStop Used AI to Simplify Genetic Test Selection
NonStop partnered with a leading genetic testing lab to build an AI-enabled test catalogue that unifies, standardises, and recommends the right test in seconds, reducing denials, improving ordering accuracy, and saving hundreds of hours for counsellors and clinicians.
The Challenge
Most genetic testing labs manage hundreds, sometimes thousands, of assays across multiple systems: LIS, EHR, billing, and portals.
Each uses its own naming conventions, CPT codes, and payer rules.The result? Inconsistent catalogues, outdated metadata, and manual upkeep that can't keep pace with scientific and regulatory change.
Clinicians and counsellors waste time searching for the right test or ordering duplicates, while billing teams fight denials caused by mismatched codes and outdated payer logic.
The organization needed a better way to:
- Centralise and standardise its entire genetic test catalogue.
- Use AI to enrich, recommend, and govern catalogue data automatically.
- Seamlessly integrate test selection into EHR and counselling workflows.
- Ensure accuracy, compliance, and continuous learning across systems.
The Approach
From Manual Maintenance to AI-Driven Governance
NonStop collaborated with the client's lab operations, bioinformatics, and billing teams to design an AI-powered catalogue management platform. This platform not only stores test data but also continuously learns from outcomes, denials, and usage patterns.
The goal: Make test selection intelligent, compliant, and effortless for every stakeholder, from counsellors to finance teams.
Ingestion & NLP Engine
We built a continuous ingestion pipeline that parses unstructured lab test sheets, assay specifications, and requisition forms, extracting metadata such as sample type, target genes, CPT/LOINC codes, and TAT. It monitors document repositories in real time to detect new or updated tests, ensuring the catalogue is always current.
Knowledge Graph Repository
Created a semantic knowledge graph connecting Tests ↔ Genes ↔ Phenotypes ↔ Indications ↔ Payers ↔ Codes. This allows users to query relationships naturally, e.g., Which panels include gene BRCA2 and are covered by Payer X?, turning static data into actionable intelligence.
Recommendation Engine
Using machine learning recommenders for patient phenotype (HPO terms), prior results, and payer coverage, the engine ranks best-fit tests by expected diagnostic yield and coverage eligibility.
Catalogue Management UI
Designed an intuitive admin console where lab managers can review AI-suggested changes, approve updates, and version-control every revision. Each edit is logged, timestamped, and auditable for compliance.
Integration Layer (FHIR / SMART on FHIR)
Exposed the catalogue as FHIR-compliant resources (ServiceRequest/Observation Definitions), allowing seamless integration into EHR ordering workflows and counsellor dashboards. Users can search, filter, and select tests within their native system without ever switching contexts.
Analytics & Feedback Loop
Built a live dashboard that tracks test utilisation, yield rates, denials, and catalogue accuracy. These analytics feed directly into model retraining and portfolio optimisation, helping leadership decide which panels to retire, update, or promote.
Security, Compliance & Reliability by Design
Given the clinical and financial sensitivity of catalogue data, NonStop implemented enterprise-grade safeguards
HIPAA / HITECH compliant with strict PHI minimisation
De-Identification & Encryption: Tokenised PHI fields; AES-256 at rest; TLS in transit
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Only lab admins can approve changes
Audit Trail & Versioning: Every modification logged with user ID and timestamp
Explainability & Governance: AI recommendations include transparent rationale highlighting relevant genes, coverage rules, and yield data
This architecture ensures compliance without sacrificing agility.
The Impact
What Changed After Go-Live
Counselors stopped spending time digging through long test lists. Finding the right test became straightforward.
Ordering mistakes dropped because coverage rules were already built into the system.
Claims started going through cleaner, with fewer denials coming back.
Test catalogue updates no longer lagged behind new science or payer changes.
Leadership finally had visibility into which tests were actually delivering value.
Counselors focus more on patients now, not the search process.Finance deals with fewer corrections.
Operations aren’t constantly adjusting for catalogue or coverage gaps.
Why It Matters
Accurate test selection is where clinical care meets financial sustainability. By combining AI, NLP, knowledge graphs, and FHIR-based interoperability, NonStop transformed a static catalogue into a living system that learns, reasons, and recommends.
It proved that cataloguing isn't just an admin task; it's a core enabler of precision medicine, payer compliance, and operational efficiency.
