An analysis of samples from regional hospitals documents widespread polydrug use, most of which is not detectable by standard tests.

How do labs audit send-out tests that do not have an orderable in the LIS? One institution monitors a miscellaneous pending list daily to identify potentially high cost/low utility tests that need to be reviewed. Another lab requires all non-coded tests to be ordered by the lab only after the provider submits a paper test request form. A third respondent, however, believes labs should strive to build all tests into orderables.

To better reflect the actual influence of age on pediatric laboratory values, the Canadian Laboratory Initiative on Pediatric Reference has developed continuous reference intervals based on a non-parametric quantile regression method.