Effective November 5, 2017, Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory will be implementing the Paris System for reporting Urine Cytology.
October 2017
Test Name Change: 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D to Calcitriol
Effective November 5, 2017, the 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D test will have its name changed to Calcitriol (1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D) in the Epic, Cerner and eSHare systems.
Effective November 5, 2017, all outpatient orders received via Epic or eSHare (i.e. electronic ordering) that are submitted as routine and drawn at Blodgett Outpatient Lab, cannot be changed from routine to STAT.
Effective November 5, 2017, Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory will no longer be able to support custom reflex orders. Only reflexes that are defined in our Mandatory and Optional Reflex Testing list will be supported. These reflexes have been approved by our Pathologists, PhD’s and the Spectrum Health Medical Executive Committee. On November 5th, we will be undergoing a system change to Epic and with our new Laboratory Information System (LIS), custom requests for reflexes will not be available.
Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory Discontinues Influenza Rapid Antigen Testing
There has been a minor change to the influenza testing methods performed by the Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory (SHRL) to improve the accuracy and timeliness of patient results, while simplifying the ordering process for providers. In past years during respiratory illness season, the lab performed influenza rapid antigen testing due to its low cost and rapid turnaround time, with negative specimens reflexed to PCR for confirmatory testing. Approximately 85% of specimens tested by a rapid antigen method typically reflexed, with those patients charged for performing both tests.