Introducing Track My Test: specimen tracking for labs

External Software started out building software for laboratories and healthcare: integrations between clinical systems, specimen tracking and real-time reporting. Today we’re opening early access to Track My Test, a product that turns that work into something small and mid-size labs can set up themselves, in a web browser, with the barcode scanners they already have.

What it does

Follows every specimen

Each lab defines its own process. A typical one is Collected → Shipped → Received → Placed on rack → Testing → Results approved → Stored, and each step can have a target time. Moving a specimen along is a barcode scan, and every scan records who did it, when, where and how. The history can be added to but never edited or deleted; the database itself refuses changes to past events. More on specimen tracking.

Knows what is in every freezer

Storage is mapped the way labs actually use it: site, room, freezer, shelf, rack, box and position. Locations get friendly names, like “Freezer John” or “Shelf Henry”, so staff find things faster, plus a printable barcode. Scan a box, then the tubes going into it, and Track My Test fills the box in order and shows each position. It won’t put two specimens in the same spot, counts a thaw whenever a frozen sample is checked out, and lists what is about to expire. More on freezer inventory.

Measures turnaround time as you work

Because every step is timestamped, turnaround times come for free: collection to receipt, receipt to completion and time in each step, as a median, average and 90th percentile. A live dashboard shows how many specimens are at each step and flags anything past its target. More on turnaround time.

Lets patients follow their sample

A lab can give a patient a tracking code. The patient opens a simple page that shows Collected, In transit, At the lab, Testing, Complete with times. It never shows results, and the specimen number is masked so only the last few characters appear. More on the patient status page.

Answers questions in Claude

Track My Test has a built-in MCP server, so a lab member can connect Claude and ask “Where are study 12’s samples?” or “What’s overdue right now?“. It is read-only. We compare it with the AI connections in Hark and Kelpic® in connect Claude to your business software.

What it doesn’t do

Track My Test stores specimen IDs only: no patient names, birth dates or results. That is a deliberate choice, and we explain it in specimen tracking without patient data. It is not a LIS or a full LIMS, and this first version has no temperature sensors, instrument interfaces or HL7/FHIR integrations.

Free tools, available now

While Track My Test is in early access, two free tools on trackmytest.com work for any lab today, in the browser and with nothing uploaded:

• The specimen label generator makes Code 128 or QR labels for specimens, boxes and locations.
• The freezer box map prints a clean grid for 9×9, 10×10 and other boxes.

Join early access

Track My Test is not generally available yet and pricing hasn’t been announced. If you run a lab and want to try it, join the early access list and we’ll be in touch. You can also read about the product on its page here on externalsoftware.com.