PGL/PCL Case Study of 25K+ transactions demonstrates 21%+ decrease in payer denials and 13%+ net revenue increase when clinics order through Shadowbox

Client Overview:

PGL/PCL is a multi-state, medium-sized diagnostic laboratory operating in a competitive and high-pressure healthcare environment. PGL/PCL faced the all-too-common downstream consequences of incomplete, incorrect, and fax, portal or paper-based orders. Like many labs, they tested nearly every specimen that came through the door regardless of order quality due to turnaround time pressures, often resulting in  revenue loss and operational inefficiencies.

The Challenge: Poor Order Quality Was Dragging Everyone Down 

Poorly completed test orders are one of the biggest drains on lab resources and revenue. PGL/PCL experienced every type of bad order imaginable, including:

• Incomplete or inaccurate patient and insurance data
• Illegible handwritten forms and missing paperwork
• Non-compliant or medically unnecessary test orders
• Manual entry errors from faxed, portal, or verbal orders
• This disorganized front-end process didn’t just burden the lab operationally. It also limited what the lab’s ability to recover revenue. Most importantly, it caused disruption and rework by the referring provider offices resulting in delays to optimal patient care.

The Solution: Fix the Front-End with Shadowbox

Clinics submitted clean digital orders to the lab through Shadowbox with no need for HL7 integration or IT support.

We deployed a custom, secure ordering application to high-volume referring clinics that:

• Captured all required data at the time of order
• Included the lab’s required business and payer logic by test modality
• Delivered clean, complete, and compliant orders
• Eliminated faxing, scanning, and manual retyping

During the case study period, more than 50 clinics were onboarded, using 13 different EHRs , with an average of just four days from on-boarding request to go-live with the first order.  The lab saw immediate operational relief.

Impact of our Solution

Shadowbox didn’t just improve workflows—we turned broken orders into bankable revenue:

• $336,000+ in direct financial impact in the first year (2024), through avoided EHR/LIMS fees and increased revenue per order
• 412% ROI with payback realized in just months
• 13% increase in net collections on Shadowbox-enabled orders
• 21% drop in claim denials, reducing rework and write-offs
• 7% higher reimbursement on average compared to non-Shadowbox orders

Clinics and the lab experienced meaningful efficiency gains:

• Orders placed in under 30 seconds, down from 3 minutes
• No more scanning, faxing, or manual retyping—just clean, digital orders
• Several high-volume clinics (ie., 500+ orders/month), observed a direct monthly reduction in administrative staff time of 20+ hours, with avoided rework time reduced by 20%+ due to fewer first pass payer denials
• Shadowbox deployment completed in an average of four days per clinic with no IT involvement

“This case study proves that fixing the front end with a clean, digital ordering process has a transformative impact. With over 25,000 transactions analyzed, we saw a 21% drop in denials, over 13% increase in net revenue, and a 412% ROI—all without any IT lift. Shadowbox not only streamlined operations but turned broken processes into measurable financial wins for  PGL/PCL,” said Adrian Brown, Director of Revenue Strategy, PGL/PCL.

These results underscore the broader impact Shadowbox delivers across the revenue cycle.

“Thanks to our collaboration with PGL/PCL, we showed the true power of Shadowbox to improve performance across the board. The case study didn’t even capture soft cost reductions like rework, or the increased volume made possible by going live in just four days—benefits we believe multiply the financial ROI many times over. There is no clearer evidence of the power of Shadowbox than this,” said Gregory Stein, Founder & CEO, Shadowbox.

Conclusion:

By giving clinics a fast, intuitive ordering solution that worked with their existing systems, Shadowbox helped PGL/PCL improve collections, reduce denials, and streamline workflows, all without a single integration. No interfaces. No IT burden. Just clean orders and better revenue.