By Michael Lenington and Jamie Swafford
Rapid registration is back! We apologize for the delay in registration during our migration to the new Electronic Health Record, or EHR. The great news is that we are again able to perform rapid registrations for lab work for patients with standing orders. Another advantage of the new EHR is that Reedsport Medical Clinic and the Walk-in Clinic can register patients for same-day lab work. The clinic receptionist or medical assistant will print out an admit sheet for you to bring to the hospital. Come right to the lab and ring the doorbell without going to the admitting desk. We are also working on setting up in-clinic registration at Dunes Family Health Care. Thank you for your patience during the transition.
To further improve efficiency and convenience, we’re redesigning the lab draw area to add to the accessibility of the room. The door will be removed and that corner squared off with a new door accessed from the main hallway. This will allow wheelchairs to be brought straight into the draw room. The computer station and patient chair will be moved to provide a more comfortable flow through the room.
When is the laboratory in operation?
The lab is open for routine testing Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Laboratory testing is available for inpatients and emergency patients seven days a week, 24 hours a day. There is always a qualified lab technologist available whose job it is to run stat (immediate) specimens, to staff the blood bank, or to deal with whatever support the laboratory needs to provide to the other hospital services. Not all tests are available 24/7, but most are. Aside from being able to cross-match units of blood and arrange for blood transfusions, the laboratory is always ready to accept specimens for culture, cardiac enzymes, drug monitoring, and basic testing such as coagulation testing, complete blood count, or CBC, electrolytes, and chemistry assays.
What comprises the laboratory department?
The laboratory at LUH and in most hospitals is divided into separate sections, depending on the technology being used or the specific type of testing being performed. Clinical chemistry concentrates on tests performed on the fluid portion of blood, as well as some other bodily fluids. Hematology looks at the cellular components of blood and coagulation involved in clotting. The blood bank deals with units of blood for transfusions. Phlebotomy collects blood specimens for testing.
Why am I told to fast before a laboratory test?
Most tests can be run on a specimen regardless of whether the patient has been fasting (nothing to eat or drink, except water). Certain tests are very sensitive to changes that occur after a meal and can only be interpreted by comparing results in a fasting state. The duration of fasting is dependent on the type of test. For example, for triglycerides or a lipid profile, a full 8- to 12-hour fast is required.
How do I know if lab results will be accurate?
All laboratories — hospital and independent — spend extraordinary amounts of time, effort and money to ensure that results are accurate. A typical laboratory, runs as many as 25 percent of samples over and above patient specimens to calibrate and control testing. This is a huge commitment to quality. Still, no laboratory is perfect, and a certain degree of scrutiny is always required. The best way to do that is to take advantage of all of the opportunities to put laboratory results in some sort of reasonable context. History and good communication between the laboratory and the ordering physician is important. In this regard, hospital laboratories offer an advantage.
What should a patient do with a laboratory result?
It is a good idea to keep a record of your laboratory results for future reference and comparison. If a laboratory result is normal, filing a copy is sufficient. If a laboratory result is abnormal, it should be discussed with your physician, who might recommend repeating the test or running some additional testing to determine the cause of the abnormality.
