By Yhordan Serpentini | November 3, 2022
In modern medicine, public and private healthcare institutions, as well as physicians and practitioners, are consistently ordering and authorizing laboratory testing and clinical testing for patience in the U.S. Laboratory testing, as elaborated in our previous blogs, spans a multitude of settings, such as Point-of-Care, in-home, or public labs.
A simple misunderstanding about laboratories is that they are all relatively the same–this is not true. Every lab is different simply because of the range of tests they perform. There are plenty of different types of labs, today of which we will be discussing reference laboratories. So, what are reference laboratories?
What Is A Reference Lab?
Reference laboratories are typically independent or private facilities that specialize in performing reference measurements, reference testing, and calibration procedures. Moreover, reference laboratories also are commonly privately-owned, allowing for high-volume, high-quality, and cost-effective esoteric testing of biological samples that were either authorized or ordered by a public health institution or physician.
Due to the practice being not only privately-owned, but also testing being done usually exclusively from orders and authorization of physicians, hospitals, practitioners, and other public health institutions and individuals, you will likely rarely ever visit a reference lab. Other alternative names for the medical practice that you might be familiar with are referrals, diagnostics, or simply commercial testing.
Types of Testing
Just like public laboratory facilities, reference labs also have a broad range of clinical testing. Reference measurements and calibration are what most reference labs are dedicated to performing. Additionally, reference labs cover the following clinical tests:
- Complete Blood Count (CBC)
- Prothrombin Time (PT)
- Basic Metabolic Panels (testing of measurements of glucose, potassium, chloride, calcium, etc.)
- Lipid Panel
- Liver Panel
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
- Hemoglobin A1C
- Urinalysis
- Cultures (testing of infections)
- Thyroid Stimulating hormone
Benefits of Reference Labs
Choosing a reference laboratory for clinical testing comes with its own set of perks and benefits. Each laboratory, whether independent, private, public, etc., excels in its own ways, allowing for better testing, accurate data, and improved patient healthcare.
For reference laboratories, specifically, their private-owned title offers the ability for impeccable quality control, offering hospitals, clinics, and other public and private health institutions the best testing at reduced costs. Additionally, reference labs excel in providing volume discounts, free consultation, and specialized testing and specialized equipment.
Disclaimer: This blog is not intended to be medical advice
References:
Common lab tests. Common Lab Tests – Martin Health System. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.martinhealth.org/common-lab-tests-mhs
Reference laboratory. LIMSWiki. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.limswiki.org/index.php/Reference_laboratory
Where lab tests are performed. Testing.com. (2021, July 2). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.testing.com/articles/where-lab-tests-are-performed/#:~:text=Reference%20labs%20are%20usually%20private,healthcare%20facilities%20like%20nursing%20homes.
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