COVER STORIES

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.

Due to outdated electronic communication standards, labs can wait months and spend thousands of dollars before a new instrument will reliably connect with their lab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

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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