Did you know Direct to Consumer laboratory testing is available at Riverview Hospital? Direct to Consumer laboratory testing allows consumers to monitor their health concerns. Patrons have the option to have their results forwarded to their healthcare practitioner, which allows patrons to self-manage their test results. Test offerings are screening or monitoring tests only. We offer a wide variety of important health and wellness blood chemistry tests at discounted prices.
Most people get lab tests after a doctor recommends them during a visit. Now, a small but growing number of consumers are skipping the time and expense of seeing a physician and are ordering up their own tests, with heart-related assays among the most popular. For some, it’s a way to keep track of measures that they want to regularly monitor, such as cholesterol levels or the blood-sugar indicator known as hemoglobin A1C, which is important to people with diabetes. For others, a broad-based panel of tests may provide a quick snapshot of overall health.
The lagging economy, which has left some people without insurance coverage, has also helped fuel the direct-to-consumer testing market. Even many people with coverage are facing bigger deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses
Consumers should make sure their testing is being performed by a CLIA-certified laboratory or the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, and accredited by an established entity such as the College of American Pathologists. The college maintains a list of the labs it checks at www.cap.org. Riverview Hospital Laboratory is accredited by CAP and CLIA.
Laboratory test results cannot substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Diagnosis and treatment of human illness should be based on your medical history, including your family’s medical history and a physical examination along with your doctor’s professional judgment and review of test results. It is therefore important for you to discuss your test results with your personal physician. Physician judgment must remain central to the selection of diagnostic tests and therapy options of a specific patient’s medical condition. Always seek the advice of your doctor if you have any questions and before you stop, start or change any treatment plan, including use of medication. If any of your results are abnormal, or if you are continuing to have symptoms that prompted you to request these tests, it is recommended that you see a physician. In the context of a physical exam and medical history, your physician my determine it necessary to repeat this test.
Learn more about the menu of services available though Direct Access laboratory testing at Riverview Hospital here.
Linda Vyain
Directory of Laboratory Services at Riverview Hospital