Published: 13 Aug 2024 Laboratory Reference Ranges in Healthy Adults bloodtest
Basically, when you have blood drawn at the doctor's office, hospital or laboratory, the blood is processed in a laboratory and is then analyzed for a variety of biomarkers.
A blood test can tell your healthcare provider a lot about your health, from how well you are managing diabetes and high cholesterol to whether or not you have heart disease, cancer, or another condition that has gone undetected for a long time. It can also help your doctor understand what is causing certain health conditions, and give you an early warning system so that you can take action to improve your condition or prevent it from happening in the first place.Your healthcare provider will use this information to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. Then, a report is prepared for your doctor to review.
Most people can now access their lab test results directly via the Internet, but very few lab reports have been designed to convey the meaning of those results in a way people who are not health professionals can understand or put in context. The information provided in this article will help you understand:
Why so few reference ranges are provided in the test information on this site: the accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, but some lab-to-lab variability can occur. You must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are 'within normal limits'.This may be due to differences in lab testing equipment, chemical reagents, and analysis techniques.