Clinician FAQs

The following aim to provide answers to Clinician Frequently Asked Questions.  If you have any further questions, please call 0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837), or Contact Us.
 

 

Where do I send patients for their blood tests?	I have a patient that requires a home visit – how do I make an appointment?
How will I get test results?	Will Labtests offer a courier collection service to pick up samples from clinics?
How do I order a courier to pick up samples?	How do I organise frozen sections and FNAs?
When will eRequests be available?	What is eRequests?
Does Labtests offer ready access to specialist pathologist advice?	Will GPs and specialists be required to take blood samples?
Are Labtests testing platforms different to those used by DML?	How will the reporting of specific tests differ to DML?
Are Labtests reference ranges different to those used by DML?

Where do I send patients for their blood tests?

From Monday October 19,  as normal all GP's, Public Hospital Clinics or Midwives will send all patients for blood tests to one of Labtests' 56 collection centres across the Auckland region.   Any patients referred for blood tests by their Private Specialist should visit a Diagnostic Medlab collection centre.

I have a patient that requires a home visit – how do I make an appointment?

Bookings for the mobile phlebotomy service are made through our call centre on 0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837).

How will I get test results?

Test results will be delivered to your practice management system via Healthlink. Labtests' results line will operate 24/7 from 10 August.  GPs or specialists wishing to access test results over the phone can call 0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837).

Will Labtests offer a courier collection service to pick up samples from clinics?

Yes, we run our own courier fleet of 30 cars to service the Auckland region.

How do I order a courier to pick up samples?

Courier bookings can be made through our call centre on 0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837).

How do I organise frozen sections and FNAs?

Frozen sections and FNAs will be provided as usual by our pathologists.  These can be arranged through our call centre on 0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837).

When will eRequests be available?

Once transition is complete, we will set up a pilot project for eRequests and will roll-out the service progressively over a 12 month period. Full IT support and training will be provided by Labtests to practices wishing to use the eRequests service. eRequests is an optional service, and paper requesting will still be available to those practices who prefer that option.

What is eRequests?

The eRequests system is an electronic test requesting system that is already in use throughout Healthscope's laboratory testing services in Australia. The system is fully compatible with standard practice management systems.

Test requests are transmitted straight to the Labtests database via a secure private link. A record of the referral is automatically created in the requesting practice’s PMS, which will generate a non-presented referral alert if the test is not carried out within a certain timeframe. Results are fed back via HealthLink just as they are at present.

Does Labtests offer ready access to specialist pathologist advice?

Yes.  Our specialist pathologists are available to provide expert advice and will work closely with Auckland’s medical community. Our team can be contacted to discuss urgent or clinically significant results as required. Doctors wishing to discuss test results with a pathologist can call 0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837).

Will GPs and specialists be required to take blood samples?

Our collection network is designed to meet 100% of Auckland’s collection needs. Some GPs and specialists may wish to take samples in certain circumstances and we will of course support them in that. We will continue to provide consumables and courier pickup of samples free of charge to all GPs and specialists who require them.

Are Labtests testing platforms different to those used by DML?

Labtests does not have the information to perform direct test to test comparisons with the incumbent provider.  We believe many of Labtests instruments are from the same manufacturers as DML so results will be very similar.
 

Still, a number of new methods will come into use when Labtests Auckland commences testing patients’ samples, and some test results may change.  Tests where changes may be of particular importance to requesters are those employed to make critical clinical decision such as cardiac Troponin, those used to monitor disease progression such as PSA and those used to guide therapeutic intervention such as INR.

How will the reporting of specific tests differ to DML?

Troponin
Labtests will measure cardiac Troponin levels using the Siemens Centaur Troponin I (c-Tnl) assay.  This assay has a diagnostic cut-off of 0.04 ug/L (compared to diagnostic cut-off for troponin T of 0.03 ug/L as used by DML).  Values above 0.04 ug/L in the c-Tnl test are indicative of myocardial injury. 

Higher values are generally associated with increased severity of injury (although this may not always follow):
  ● C-Tnl levels become elevated within 2 to 3 hours after the onset of symptoms, peak at 18-24 hours, and remain elevated for up to 14 days.
  ● A negative result for c-Tnl should be repeated in 6-12 hours post the onset of chest pain if AMI is suspected.  Clearly, where AMI is indicated on clinical grounds or form evidence of ECG changes, requestors should not wait for a troponin result before arranging urgent referral.
  ● At low detectable concentrations, a rise in consecutive c-Tnl values should be sought before diagnosing acute myocardial infarction.  C-Tnl levels following myocardial infraction are generally 5-50 times the cut-off level.
  ● An elevated c-Tnl level in the setting of clinical ischemia is diagnostic of myocardial damage and need not be repeated.
  ● A full interpretive comment (with diagnostic cut-off) is supplied on all reports.


PSA
Labtests will measure PSA using the Siemens Centaur PSA assay and report the same age-related cut-off values for PSA as used by the other Auckland diagnostic pathology laboratories.  As a rule of thumb, our reported PSA values will be similar to those reported by DML. Labtests is undertaking work to establish the nature of any difference.
 

INR
The INR (International Normalised Ratio) is effectively a means of standardizing a patient’s prothrombin ratio and is calculated by dividing the patient’s prothrombin time (in seconds) by the mean normal prothrombin time (MNPT) to the power of the ISI.  The purpose of this standardization is to allow direct comparison of a patient’s results between laboratories using different testing methods.
 

Labtests INR results may differ slightly to those reported by DML.  Labtests will utilize a different testing platform but use the same reagent as is currently used by DML.  While this change is in part catered for by applying a differing ISI value to our INR calculation, there may be small differences in results.  Any difference in INR results between Labtests and the current provider are unlikely to require a change in warfarin dosage.

Are Labtests reference ranges different to those used by DML?

For the vast majority of our tests, reference ranges are the same as those used by DML.  Many of the quoted reference ranges have been agreed across all Auckland laboratories after discussion in the Auckland Regional Quality Assurance Group (ARQAG).  Labtests scientists and pathologists are members of and contributors to ARQAG.  Where ARQAG ranges are not applicable other validated ranges will be used, for example those established across our laboratory network using identical instrumentation or from the reagent manufacturer’s published reference ranges.

LABTESTS WILL:
● Report every result with a relevant reference range.
● Highlight abnormal results.
● Append an interpretive comment to significantly abnormal results.
● Provide a pathologist (0508 LABTESTS) for any additional advice.