The Reliability of Blood Work Labs

When a doctor or your health provider requests you to get a work-up of your blood, you need to make sure that the blood work lab or laboratory you go to is a reliable one and that their clinical laboratory testing is accurate and precise. There is a group called The Joint Commission that provides a list of accredited laboratories (and other health related organizations) who has met with national health and safety standards. The list provided includes performance of the laboratories in question and a comparative analysis with other labs nationwide and statewide. Although your health provider may have already given a recommended blood work lab for you, it will not hurt to check whether this recommended entity has passed the standards set by The Joint Commission.

In a blood work lab or a medical lab (they do not only do blood work), several procedures are done related to patient diagnosis. These include specimen collection such as taking blood samples via venipuncture, and collecting samples such as urine, stool and sputum. These samples should then be labeled and stored properly. The hematology department tests for blood components including CBC (complete blood count). The results are then reflected in an official laboratory report. Blood chemical levels and toxicology tests are done in the clinical chemistry department of a medical laboratory. Microbiology is another department in a medical lab and this department performs cultures of microorganisms in body fluids such as blood and urine. Laboratories located in hospitals also have blood banks (storage bank for extracted blood).

Trained and certified technicians and laboratory scientists manage, study, and analyze these blood samples for you. These professionals collaborate with your health provider by providing them with an accurate diagnostic tool, which, in the turn, will help your health provider present you with an informed diagnosis.

Regulatory agencies of the government monitor these laboratories through proficiency testing programs, making sure that the labs conduct routine quality control tests for equipment and test methods, and validating appropriate handling of samples collected.