Where Lab Tests Are Performed

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Today, laboratory testing is performed in many different settings, from the large reference lab that performs many complex tests to your own home, where you might take a pregnancy test or monitor your blood glucose levels.
Many of us, however, may wonder where our tests actually are performed. As we learn to take a more active role in our medical care, a clear understanding of what happens when our blood or urine or other body fluid specimen is sent “off to the lab” will help us to become more knowledgeable participants in our own healthcare.
All labs are not the same for the simple reason that not all tests are the same. Just as tests vary, labs also vary in complexity, the volume of tests performed, the technology utilized, and the number and type of professionals who perform the testing.
There are important differences among the various testing settings. This information will be useful in understanding the variety of laboratory tests that are available.
Testing Locations
View sources
Sources Used in Current Review
Esposito, L. (2015 January 30). Hospital Labs: Behind the Scenes. U.S. News and World Report. Available online at http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/01/30/hospital-labs-behind-the-scenes?page=2. Accessed 12/18/2015.
(Updated 2013 March 29). NIH Fact Sheets: Point of Care Diagnostic Testing. National Institutes of Health. Available online at http://www.report.nih.gov/NIHfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=112. Accessed 12/18/2015.
Lee, J. (2014 August 30). Modern Healthcare. Outsourcing lab services can save money, but it’s not that simple. Available online at http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140830/MAGAZINE/308309895. Accessed 12/18/2015.
About Public Health Laboratories. Association of Public Health Laboratories. Available online at http://www.aphl.org/AboutAPHL/aboutphls/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 12/18/2015.
(2015 December 16). What is Direct to Consumer Genetic Testing? Genetics Home Reference. Available online at http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/testing/directtoconsumer. Accessed 12/18/2015.
(2012 July). Consumer Access to Laboratory Testing and Information, Position Paper. The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. Available online http://www.ascls.org/position-papers/177-direct-access-testing/139-direct-access-testing. Accessed 12/18/2015.
(2014 January). Direct to Consumer Genetic Tests. Federal Trade Commission. Available online at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0166-direct-consumer-genetic-tests. Accessed 12/18/2015.
Sources Used in Previous Reviews
American Association for Clinical Chemistry. Order Your Own Lab Tests without Direct Physician Access. Press Release, July 31, 2001. Available online at http://www.newswise.com/articles/2001/7/DAT.CC1.html.
Schulze, Matthew. 25 Percent More States Allow Direct Access Testing. Laboratory Medicine (American Society for Clinical Pathology). November 2001.
The College of American Pathologists (CAP). Commission on Laboratory Accreditation: Point of Care Testing Checklist. October 2001.
Jerry O’Connell, MD. Columbia Hospital for Women, Washington, DC (written communication).
Wisconsin State Journal. March 17, 2002.
Types of Clinical Labs. Previously available online at http://iweb.lati.tec.sd.us/STAFF/Smithp/TYPES%20OF%20CLINICAL%20LABORATORIES.htm.
http://www.memorialhosp.org/new_directaccess.html [No longer available online.]
Association of Public Health Laboratories. About Public Health Labs. Available online at http://www.aphl.org/AboutAPHL/aboutphls/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed June 2011.
CDC. Improving the Public Health Laboratory Infrastructure. Available online at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/lrn/infrastructure.asp. Accessed June 2011.
CDC. Public Health Preparedness Report – Public Health Laboratories. Available online at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/publications/feb08phprep/section1/phlab.asp. Accessed June 2011.
CDC. Laboratory Response Network (LRN). Available online at http://emergency.cdc.gov/lrn/. Accessed June 2011.
Vermont Department of Health. Public Health Laboratory. Available online at http://www.healthvermont.gov/enviro/ph_lab/PublicHealthLaboratory.aspx. Accessed June 2011.
Genetics and Public Policy Center. Survey of Direct-to-Consumer Testing Statutes and Regulations. June 2007. No longer available online; previously at http://www.dnapolicy.org/resources/DTCStateLawChart.pdf.
Genetics Home Reference. What is direct-to-consumer genetic testing? Available online at http://www.ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/testing/directtoconsumer. Accessed August 2012.