Panel Approval FAQ

Why do panels need approval before they can be ordered?

When you create a panel via the API (POST /v3/lab_tests), Junction validates it before it becomes orderable. This protects a few things:

Clinical review. When Junction's physician network is the ordering provider, they're clinically responsible for every test ordered under their license. Markers on our pre-approved ("à la carte") list have already been through this review. Panels containing markers outside that list require our provider network to review them — including how results are communicated and how abnormal/critical results are followed up — before they can sign off on ordering.

Pricing validation. Markers without confirmed lab pricing can't be auto-approved until pricing is in place.

At-home (mobile phlebotomy) requirements. Per our phlebotomy partner's requirements, all at-home panels are reviewed to confirm tube counts, since draw feasibility and draw fees vary with the number of tubes required.

How long does approval take?

It depends on the panel's composition:

Panels composed entirely of à la carte-enabled markers are approved automatically — there's no meaningful delay, and they're ready to order right away.

Panels containing markers outside the à la carte list require review by our provider network, which can take longer (days to a few weeks depending on the markers involved). We're actively working to shorten this.

At-home panels additionally go through tube-count review.

Can we build a custom panel builder on top of the create-panel APIs?

Yes — and the cleanest way to do it is to scope the builder to à la carte-enabled markers. If providers compose panels only from those markers, panels auto-approve and the flow is fully self-serve with no waiting period. You can fetch the eligible set programmatically via GET /v3/lab_tests/markers with a_la_carte_enabled=true, and there's more detail in our docs here. Most commonly ordered tests are already à la carte-enabled.

If there are specific markers you need that aren't on the list today, send them our way — we can review whether they can be added or pre-approve the panels containing them.

Any recommendations in the meantime?

Pre-build and submit your most commonly ordered panels (especially at-home ones) ahead of time so they're approved and ready before you need to order against them.