Connecting the Abbott ID NOW to your LIS or EHR

Rapid molecular testing at the point of care gives an answer in minutes, but the result still has to reach the systems your clinic runs on. Where that last step is manual, someone reads a positive or negative off the instrument screen or a printout and keys it into the patient record. That takes time, it is easy to log the wrong patient, and the record of who did what can be thin, which matters when a qualitative result drives what happens next.

This page explains, in plain terms, how an Abbott ID NOW can send its results into a laboratory information system (LIS) or electronic health record (EHR), and what Catenix does in the middle so that results flow automatically and quality-control data stays where it belongs.

Quick answer

The Abbott ID NOW sends results through the manufacturer's connectivity tool, which offers an HL7 v2 or POCT1-A2 result interface. Catenix captures those results at your site with a small on-site gateway, keeps quality-control runs separate from patient results, preserves an audit trail, and can forward the patient results to your LIS or EHR. You avoid manual transcription and keep a clear record of what was received.

What the Abbott ID NOW measures

The Abbott ID NOW is a rapid, isothermal molecular system for point-of-care testing. A single-use cartridge is loaded for each test, and the menu available depends on the assays your site runs, which on the public datasheets include respiratory targets. It reports qualitative results, that is, a categorical outcome for the target rather than a numeric concentration.

Catenix does not change what the device measures or how it is operated. Our scope is connectivity: taking the results the instrument already produces and moving them reliably into your other systems. We make no claim about the device's clinical performance or its suitability for any diagnostic decision, and we make no claim about the performance of any individual assay.

How the ID NOW connects

Individual ID NOW instruments are not usually wired straight into a clinic network. Instead, results are gathered through the manufacturer's connectivity tool, and it is that tool that presents results to the wider network. On its public data sheets, that tool offers an HL7 v2 or POCT1-A2 result interface, the same general messaging families used across much of healthcare for sending results between systems.

HL7 version 2 is a long-established standard for exchanging clinical messages such as results, and POCT1-A2 is the standard written specifically for point-of-care devices. In broad terms, each message carries the identifying details of a test event and the outcome that goes with it, structured so that a receiving system can file it against the right record. Catenix speaks these general interfaces. We do not need, and this page does not publish, any vendor-specific internal detail about how individual values are laid out.

At your site, a small Catenix gateway sits on the local network and receives the result messages the connectivity tool sends. The gateway is the only piece of new hardware involved, and it runs quietly alongside your existing kit.

Results and quality control in Catenix

Once the gateway receives a result, Catenix records it in your cloud workspace with a timestamp and keeps an audit trail of what arrived and when. Nothing is retyped, so the outcome in the record is the outcome the instrument produced, which matters for a qualitative result where a mistyped positive or negative changes what happens next.

Point-of-care systems also produce quality-control runs, the checks that confirm the instrument and cartridges are behaving as expected. Catenix identifies these QC runs and keeps them separate from patient results, so a control sample never lands in a patient's record and your QC history stays intact for review. This separation is worked out from the information in the incoming results, without any change to how the instrument is used.

From there, Catenix can forward the patient results onward to the systems your site already runs, such as a LIS or an EHR. The result flows once, automatically, from the instrument through to the record, and the same audit trail follows it.

Getting connected

To connect an ID NOW, a site typically needs the manufacturer's connectivity tool configured to send results over the network, a Catenix gateway on that same network, and agreement on where patient results should be delivered. Most of the setup is configuration rather than new equipment.

If you are planning a connection or want to check what your current setup allows, our team can talk it through with you. See /contact/ to get in touch, /platform/ for how the workspace and gateway fit together, and /pricing/ for how it is packaged. For security and data handling, see /security/ and /trust/.

Questions clinics ask

Can I connect an Abbott ID NOW to my LIS?

Yes. The ID NOW sends results through the manufacturer's connectivity tool over HL7 v2 or POCT1-A2, and Catenix captures those results and can forward them to a LIS or EHR. The main requirement is that the connectivity tool is set to send results and that a Catenix gateway is on the same network.

Do I need new hardware to make this work?

The only new item is the small Catenix gateway that sits on your local network. Your ID NOW instruments and the manufacturer's connectivity tool carry on as they are, and most of the work is configuration rather than installation.

How are quality-control runs handled?

Catenix recognises QC runs in the incoming results and keeps them separate from patient records. Your control results stay grouped for review and never appear against a patient, which keeps both the patient record and the QC history clean.

Are qualitative results supported?

Yes. The ID NOW reports qualitative results, and Catenix carries the result the connectivity tool sends through to the record without retyping. Catenix handles the connectivity, not the measurement, so what the instrument reports is what is filed.

Which assays or tests are supported?

Catenix carries whatever result the ID NOW connectivity tool sends, so the tests available depend on the assays your site runs rather than on Catenix. We make no claim about assay performance and handle the connectivity, not the measurement itself.

How do we get started?

Get in touch through /contact/ and we can review your current setup, the connectivity tool configuration, and where you want results delivered. See /platform/ for how the gateway and workspace work together.

Product and company names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective owners. Reference to them is for identification only and does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or certification from those owners. This page describes connectivity and data handling only and is not clinical advice.

Reviewed July 2026. Back to integrations. Going deeper on the standard: our HL7 v2 and POCT1-A2 field guide.

Running something we have not listed?

We build analyser drivers to order, including for niche, regional and discontinued instruments. Tell us the make and model and we will tell you what is possible. Custom integrations or request a quote.