COVER STORIES
The Path to Better Test Utilization
Why Labs Should Step-up Physician Education, Consultation
By Genna Rollins
Given the explosive growth in the number of lab tests now available and ever busier practices, physicians need help in appropriately ordering and interpreting lab tests, an issue in which laboratorians play a vital role. In a special CLN survey, laboratorians weighed in on the importance of factors that influence physician test utilization.
The Cutting Edge of Lab Connectivity
Will New Standard Deliver Plug-and-Play Solutions?
By Bill Malone
Due to outdated electronic communication standards, labs can wait months and spend thousands of dollars before a new instrument will reliably connect with their lab information system. Now, a group of instrument manufacturers and software developers have successfully tested a new standard for lab connectivity that promises rapid and uniform connections among instruments, the LIS, and other components in the lab.
SERIES ARTICLE
Cortisol
Clinical Indications and Laboratory Testing
By William E. Winter, MD, Lindsay A. L. Bazydlo, PhD, Neil S. Harris, MD
Perturbation of cortisol levels can prove life-threatening due to the central role the steroid hormone plays in bodily functions ranging from glucose homeostasis to the stress response. Because testing patients for cortisol excess or deficiency requires specific, controlled conditions, laboratorians should be ready to help guide physicians on appropriate utilization of tests.
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