Integrators usually call GET Sample ID to get test results for Completed orders only because they assume that test results associated with samples in In Progress orders are not ready.

However, labs often partially complete orders or publish individual samples in In Progress orders.

In these cases, the integrators miss the published samples' data when they are published.

To resolve this, integrators could use our webhook (which is only triggered when samples are published, regardless of order status), or call for samples in In Progress orders too. However, in the latter case, they do not have a field that tells them which samples in In Progress orders are ready or published.

Therefore, if we provide date_published (either with a null value if not published or the datetime value if published), then integrators can know which samples are published/ready when they are in In Progress orders.