Patient Resources

laboratory tests is designed to help you, the patient or caregiver, understand the what, why, and how of laboratory testing. To access the primary resources on this website, you can go to the full listings below:

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In-depth Feature Articles

To learn more about laboratory medicine in general and gain a greater understanding of how laboratory testing can impact your healthcare, read the following in-depth articles. These patient resources are intended to help you navigate the testing process, provide context for the tests that you may have done and give you a better understanding of your test results.

Medical Laboratory Professionals: Who's Who in the Lab

Learn about the roles and qualifications of the many skilled professionals who work in clinical laboratories, including technologists, pathologists, and other laboratorians.

Coping with Test Pain, Discomfort and Anxiety

Sometimes, undergoing an unfamiliar medical procedure can turn out to be a tense, upsetting, or even frightening experience. If undergoing medical tests makes you or someone you care for anxious, embarrassed, or fearful, read this article for some general tips on how to make the sample collection experience less stressful.

Laboratory-developed Tests (LDTs)

In this article, you can learn about laboratory-developed tests, also called "LDTs", that are developed, evaluated, and validated within one particular laboratory. They are not distributed or sold to any other labs or healthcare facilities to perform on their own. Often, a lab will choose to develop and use an LDT because a commercial test is not currently available.

Commercial Laboratory Tests and FDA Approval

The majority of laboratory tests in use today are commercial lab tests, those that are are manufactured, marketed, and sold in volume as kits to multiple laboratories and other healthcare facilities. In this article, you can learn how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the development and marketing of the commercial tests used in medical care.

Putting New Laboratory Tests into Practice

Learn how and why different types of laboratory tests are developed, validated, and made available for use by patients and their healthcare practitioners.

Wellness and Prevention in an Era of Patient Responsibility

As healthcare consumers have taken on more responsibility for their health, increased attention has been given to the value of preventive medicine. This article discusses how you can take an active role in your healthcare, offering general suggestions as well as more detail on the role of screening tests.

Laboratory Methods

Understanding the method used for a test provides a broader context for understanding your test results. Learn about a few common laboratory methods mentioned on this site.

Patient Blood Management

Patient Blood Management (PBM) is used by clinicians to optimize a patient’s current medical condition to ensure successful recovery. Its main focus is on preventing anemia and/or blood loss, but it also involves investigating and treating anemia when present.

Transfusion Medicine

Learn about transfusion medicine and blood banking. Transfusion medicine is the branch of medicine that is concerned with the process of collecting (donation), testing, processing, storing, and transfusing blood and its components. It is a cornerstone of emergency and surgical medicine. Blood banks are sections of clinical laboratories that process, test, and distribute blood and its components.

Lab Oversight: A Building Block of Trust

High standards of quality for clinical laboratories are maintained by federal and state government, laboratory professional organizations, and individual laboratories themselves.