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Like many areas in medicine, clinical lab testing often provides few simple answers to commonly asked questions. The issues - on topics like insurance reimbursement and reference ranges - can be very complex. While we can't offer the kinds of short, easy answers that we seem to be accustomed to in this information age, we have attempted in the following articles to break down the issues in a way that will help you to understand the issues a bit better, and perhaps, to ask the appropriate questions of your doctor.
Reference Ranges and What They Mean
Test results are usually interpreted based on their relation to a reference range. This article will help to explain what a reference range is, what it isn't, and why test results and references ranges should not be interpreted together in a vacuum.
How Reliable is Laboratory Testing?
Laboratory tests drive a large part of the clinical decisions our doctors make about our health, from diagnosis through therapy and prognosis. Given the crucial role that test data play in medical decision-making, we prepared this article to help you understand the key concepts and practices that are involved in making laboratory tests reliable.
The Universe of Genetic Testing
An increasing number of genetic tests are becoming available as a result of recent and rapid advances in biomedical research. It has been said that genetic testing may revolutionize the way many diseases are diagnosed. But genetic testing does not just help a physician diagnose disease. This article discusses genetic testing and the different reasons genetic tests are performed.
How Clinical Laboratory Tests Get to Market
As technology enables more rapid advancement in the laboratory sciences and as headlines tout the latest research, understanding how a test gets to market may help you to put such news into its appropriate context. We have prepared this article to help guide you through the process for a lab test to proceed from conception to market uptake.
Home Testing
As health care consumers continue to seek more convenience, particularly among chronic sufferers and the elderly, the home testing market is growing rapidly. Here's a glimpse at the market and the opportunities as well as the trade offs.
Coping with Test Pain, Discomfort, and Anxiety
Nobody particularly enjoys having their blood drawn or providing a urine or stool sample, but a medical test conducted on a small sample collected from your body can give your doctor information that can help save or improve the quality of your life. This series of articles has some tips on how to approach the experience more positively and with less stress. Other titles in the series include Tips on Blood Testing, Tips for Children, and Tips for the Elderly.
Staying Healthy in an Era of Patient Responsibility
As health care consumers have been given more responsibility for their care, more attention has been given to the value of preventive medicine. This article discusses how you can take an active role in your health care before you get sick, offering general suggestions as well as more detail on the role of screening tests.
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