Laboratory Services

No. Lab tests are performed on a walk-in basis.

The quality and accuracy of your laboratory test results are used by your doctor to diagnose your health and, if needed, develop a course of treatments and measure the effectiveness of your treatments. In fact, a standard statistic is that 70% of the measurable data in a patient's medical record are laboratory results. When your lab work is performed at the Wilson Medical Center Laboratory, the results become part of your comprehensive medical record and are used to make important diagnostic and treatment decisions that affect your health.

Yes. Each time you come in for testing, your insurance company sees it as an individual visit. They require that you have a new account number, insurance verification, and your consent for treatment for each visit.

It depends on the medication and how it is taken. Please ask your doctor about your medications before your specimen collection.

If your doctor has ordered laboratory tests with instructions to fast, that means that you must not have anything to eat or drink for a specified period before your test is collected. Certain laboratory test results are inaccurate following the ingestion and digestion of food or drink. Blood sugar (glucose) and triglycerides are two examples of tests that are affected by food and drink. Your doctor will tell you how many hours to fast prior to your test (usually 8, 12, or 14):

Do not eat or drink anything (except water) during the time period stated before you go to the laboratory to have your specimen collected.

You may drink water, but no juice, tea or coffee.

Continue to take any medications unless instructed otherwise by you physician

Many lab tests DO require fasting; however your provider should tell you if you are required to fast for your lab tests. If you're not sure, please check with your provider. Generally, all glucose, cholesterol or lipid testing require an 8-12 hour fast.

You have a right to get a copy of any of your test results from our Medical Records Department. An Authorization to Release Protected Health Information will be requested by the Medical Records Department, giving us legal permission to give you a copy of your laboratory results. Results are not usually ready immediately, so you may need to come back to the laboratory to get your results.

The tests you have performed will determine how quickly your provider will receive your completed results. Some results are available within hours, while others take a few days to complete.

Only your provider can interpret your results and what they mean for you. For general information on laboratory tests and what they mean, go to www.labtestsonline.org.

We know it looks like a lot, but it's really not! A typical tube holds about 1 teaspoon of blood. A typical person has about 14 pints of blood in their body, which is about 1,344 teaspoons. Even if we collect more than one tube of blood, you can see that it's not very much compared to how much you have in your body.