Lab Tests Online, the award-winning patient information website, is now available in Spanish. Like the original English-language version, the new website provides detailed, peer-reviewed information on a wide range of laboratory tests in a noncommercial format.
Published in Spain by the Spanish Society of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Pathology (SEQC) through arrangement with AACC, the site’s US-based publisher, Lab Tests Online-ES (www.labtestsonline.es) went live in March with about one-third of the US site’s test descriptions translated. Each article describes the test sample required and explains why the doctor might prescribe the test, how the test is used, and what the results might mean. The material was originally drafted and approved by laboratory scientists in the US and Canada, and has been translated and approved by laboratory scientists native to Spain.
Rosa Sierra-Amor, PhD, former president of the Mexican association of clinical biochemistry, Asociación Mexicana de Bioquímica Clínica (www.ambc.org.mx ) believes that Lab Tests Online-ES will become a valued resource in her country and throughout Latin American and in the United States. “There are about 20 million Internet users in Spain – about the same as the number of latinos using the Internet in the United States. And in Latin America, we have more than 60 million users. True, there are some language differences, but they are minor and should not keep people from accessing this necessary information.” Sierra-Amor is also an AACC member.
In addition to test descriptions, the US Lab Tests Online (www.labtestsonline.org) includes descriptions of conditions and diseases that identify the tests used to screen for, diagnose, or monitor them, and feature articles on testing-related topics such as the meaning of reference ranges and test reliability. A section that surveys screening recommendations from leading authorities distinguishes the site from other resources that sometimes over-simplify conflicting opinions on screening, and news stories help the site keep up with the latest advances in laboratory science and practice. SEQC will translate this additional content and post it to Lab Tests Online-ES over time.
Launched in 2001, the original English-language version of the site has been called one of the “smartest health sites on the web” by Prevention magazine and was awarded the Summit Award for public service by the American Society of Association Executives, the organization’s highest honor. Reaching 1 million visitors each month, Lab Tests Online is the only online resource dedicated exclusively to providing users with testing-related information.
Noting that the new Spanish site has already hosted more than 20,000 visitors, Dr. Robert Dufour, the international editorial liaison for the US Lab Tests Online, remarked, “This is an auspicious beginning for the Spanish site and one of our most important launches. One of our goals for several years has been to reach the Spanish-speaking populations here in the US and throughout Latin America.” Dr. Dufour has served on Lab Tests Online’s Editorial Review Board for seven years, and is one of the Board’s original members.
Lab Tests Online-ES is the first of five new versions of Lab Tests Online expected to launch in Europe this year. A German version launched in mid-April, and Hungarian, Polish, and Italian versions are anticipated later in the year.