Why pathology results stop downloading — and how to fix it

When results stop flowing into Best Practice or Zedmed, a GP's first question is usually "did the lab stop sending?" The answer is almost never yes — the lab's systems are fine. The problem is almost always on your end of the connection.

Here's what causes it and what to check.

What it looks like

Results disappear. Yesterday the inbox in your PMS was collecting automatically; today it's empty. No error message, no warning — they just stop. Sometimes it happens overnight. Sometimes after a Windows update. Sometimes for no obvious reason at all.

The five most common causes

1. HL7 configuration drift

Healthcare results travel between labs and practice management software using a standard called HL7 (Health Level 7). Your PMS has settings that tell it where to find incoming HL7 messages — a folder path, a server address, or a network port.

If that path or address changes (after a server migration, a new PC, or a changed mapped drive) the software can't find the messages. It doesn't crash. It just quietly waits for messages that never arrive.

This is the most common cause. A mapped drive like Z:\HL7\Incoming that silently disconnects at login can stop results arriving with no visible error.

2. A network or firewall change

Some labs deliver results via a direct TCP connection to a specific IP address and port on your server. If your router firmware updated, your practice moved ISP, or your server's IP address changed, that connection breaks.

This is especially common after NBN migrations or when IT teams apply new firewall rules without checking which services depend on specific network paths.

3. Your PMS updated

Major version updates to Best Practice, Zedmed, or MedicalDirector occasionally reset or overwrite HL7 service configuration. If results stopped within a day or two of a software update, check this first.

The HL7 service may also need to be restarted manually after some updates — it doesn't always restart itself.

4. The lab changed something

Labs occasionally change servers, IP addresses, or result formats — and don't always notify practices directly. If every practice using that lab has the same problem at the same time, it's lab-side. A quick call to the lab's IT support line confirms this within minutes.

5. Antivirus or Windows Defender blocked the service

Security software updates occasionally flag HL7 integration services as suspicious — particularly if the service runs on an unusual port or connects to an external IP. The service gets quarantined and stops without warning.

Check your AV quarantine logs if the timing coincides with a Windows Defender or antivirus update.

What you can check yourself

Before calling IT, these three questions narrow down the problem significantly:

Is it affecting one lab or all labs? If only one lab's results are missing, it's likely either a lab-side issue or lab-specific connection settings. If all labs have stopped, the problem is on your end.

Is it affecting one workstation or every computer? If one GP's desktop isn't receiving results but others are, the problem is local to that machine. If nobody is receiving results, the problem is at the server or network level.

When did it last work? Check the most recently received result in your PMS. Note the date and time, then think about what happened around then — a Windows update, a software update, someone changed something on the server.

What your IT provider needs to do

Once you've narrowed it down, a qualified IT person needs to:

Verify the HL7 service is running (a simple restart fixes it immediately in many cases)
Confirm folder paths or connection addresses are still correct
Check Windows Event Viewer and the PMS logs for errors around the time results stopped
Test the connection to the lab's result server if it's a direct TCP integration
Review AV quarantine logs if a security update is the likely cause

Most pathology integration failures are resolved in under an hour when you know what to look for.

When to call the lab

Call the lab's technical support line if:

Results from only one specific lab have stopped
The problem started at the same time for multiple practices (your colleagues may have the same issue)
Your IT provider has confirmed everything on your end is correctly configured

Labs have technical teams who can check whether your practice is appearing in their system and whether messages are being sent successfully.

If your clinic's pathology integration has stopped — or you're not sure whether it's working correctly — a quick IT health check will tell you exactly what's happening and how to fix it.