Laboratory: Processes
Learn More About Laboratory Services At Eastern: Chat with Us | Email Us
What are the Laboratory processes?
When you first arrive at CTCA at Eastern Regional Medical Center and throughout your care, you will receive various laboratory tests. When your physician places an order for a test, it goes into an automated computer system to notify the Laboratory.
To receive your laboratory tests, you will visit the Outpatient Clinic on the first floor of the hospital. In the clinic, a phlebotomist will draw a sample of blood. If you have a central line, or port, a nurse will draw the blood. The phlebotomist station has regular hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and is available during off hours when needed. Phlebotomists also visit inpatients for early morning rounds and for periodic rounds throughout the day.
Once you have received your laboratory tests, the results will go back into the automated system for your physician to review. This process helps determine your personalized treatment plan.
What are the turnaround times in the Laboratory?
Eastern’s Laboratory performs an average of 1000 CBCs and Chemistry panels per month. Since the Laboratory is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the turnaround time is extremely efficient, even for the tests that are sent out. For instance, the turnaround time for complete blood counts is less than 30 minutes, and it is about 45 minutes for Chem panels (Chem14).
“I’ve worked in other hospitals that have emergency rooms with a standard turnaround of an hour. It means a lot to our patients that we can turn those tests around in less than an hour,” says Kellom.
For tumor marker tests, the turnaround time is about 75 minutes. According to Kellom, the turnaround at other facilities can be anywhere from a day to a week or two weeks. “The fact that we can turnaround these tests in less than 100 minutes is really a benefit to our patients and it is something we are very proud of,” says Kellom.
For microbiology tests, which are sent to a reference lab, a courier comes to pick up the tests four times a day. Depending on the specific test, the Laboratory usually gets the results in 48 hours. According to Kellom, this is very fast turnaround for microbiology tests, considering the time it takes to grow the organisms.
“Even though we don’t do microbiology on site, we do our best to provide as superior a service as we can,” says Kellom. And, since the reference lab directly interfaces with the Department of Laboratory Services via an automated computer system, the process is even more streamlined.
What is the quality of Laboratory results?
The Laboratory understands that turnaround time is meaningless without attention to quality. After all, your treatment plan is guided by laboratory results. Thus, the department makes the quality of results its primary focus.
“Our medical technologists are not only extensively trained, but they are also empowered, to make decisions about the quality of the results. If there is a question in any way about the accuracy or integrity of the specimen or the results, they will question it. They will not put that result out until they feel completely comfortable that it is accurate and right for the patient,” says Kellom.