Browsing Tag

gastroenterology

Compliance & Safety, Education & Training, General Information

IMPORTANT: Lipid Testing Changes

Effective Monday, September 16, 2024 all Corewell Health ambulatory offices will see an increase in Frequency Advance Beneficiary Notices (ABN) when ordering Lipids. This ensures compliance with Medicare requirements. ABNs serve as an indication to ordering physicians and APPs that the order has a stipulation for coverage and that Medicare may not reimburse for services; the patient will need to acknowledge potential financial responsibility. Having this completed ABN on file allows Corewell Health to provide and bill for services.

Specific to lipid frequency ABNs:

• Screening: Medicare covers testing once every 5 years. Per CMS, lipid testing in asymptomatic individuals is considered screening regardless of the presence of other risk factors such as family history, tobacco use, etc.
• Monitoring: Medicare covers testing once annually for monitoring the lifestyle and/or pharmaceutical treatment of lipid disorders. If more frequent testing is medically necessary after initiation of therapy, Medicare will cover up to six total cholesterol or LDL labs in the first year of therapy.

Lab will collect any ABNs needed if not collected prior to patient collection at our Patient Service Centers. If collection occurs in the office, be sure to follow the process: Ambulatory Clinical – Completing the Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN) from the Epic Education Team SharePoint page. Any Medicare patient specimen submitted for lipid panel testing without an ABN will NOT be tested by the laboratory.

For more information on the CMS requirements for lipid testing, please review the NCD – Lipid Testing (190.23) (cms.gov)

Chemistry, Referral/Sendouts

Hepatitis A IgG Antibody Discontinued

Effective Thursday, April 18, 2024, Corewell Health Laboratory will discontinue the send out test Hepatitis A IgG Antibody, Serum (Mayo Test ID: HAIGG). This test has been made obsolete by Mayo Clinic Laboratories. We recommend to our healthcare providers the following in-house testing:

1.Hepatitis A Total Antibody (LAB1230596): intended for the clinical laboratory diagnosis of acute or past hepatitis A virus infection in persons with signs or symptoms of hepatitis and in persons at increased risk for hepatitis A infection, to identify HAV susceptible individuals and to determine the presence of an antibody response to HAV in vaccine recipients.

2.Hepatitis A Antibody, IgM (LAB7980): intended for use as an aid in the laboratory diagnosis of an acute or recently acquired hepatitis A virus infection.

Continue Reading

Immunochemistry, Main lab

Update in Testing Platform – Immunochemistry

As of January 26, 2024, for the following tests, the testing platform has changed from EliA Fluorescence Enzyme Immunoassay (FEIA) from Thermofisher to Multiplex Flow Immunoassay from Biorad. Please review the lab catalog for any changes to collection information or reference ranges.

• Anti-dsDNA Antibody
• Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide (CCP) Antibody
• Celiac Antibody Cascade
• Tissue Transglutaminase Antibody
• Gliadin Antibodies Continue Reading

Hematology

Result Reporting Change of Nucleated Cells in Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Counts

Cell Count w/ Differential if indicated, Cerebrospinal Fluid [LAB2111025] and Cell Count with Differential, Cerebrospinal Fluid (Pediatric Oncology) [LAB212] currently result nucleated cell counts as a White Blood Cell (WBC) count.

Effective Tuesday, August 16, 2022, the WBC component will be removed and instead reported as a Total Nucleated Cell (TNC) Count for CSF.

Continue Reading

Chemistry

Reference Range Update: ALT and AST

After consultation with our clinical partners, Spectrum Health West Michigan Laboratory will be adjusting the pediatric reference ranges for our new ALT and AST reagents in an effort to better serve our population.  Numerous academic studies were reviewed, and the values listed below were adopted on August 3, 2022: Continue Reading

Chemistry

Updates: Chemistry Reference Ranges

Effective August 2, 2022, reference ranges for the below tests will be updated to better align with the vendor’s recommendation and with Spectrum Health Lakeland Laboratory. Please click on the links below and scroll to the Reference Range field to see the updated ranges.

Lithium Level [LAB29]

PTH Intact [LAB108]

IgM Level [LAB72]

IgA Level [LAB73]

CA 125 Level [LAB155]

C4 Complement Level [LAB151]

C3 Complement Level [LAB152]

Albumin Level [LAB45]

Transferrin Level [LAB133]

Questions or inquiries may be directed to the “Contact Us” link above.

Microbiology, Test Utilization

Enteric Pathogens PCR Panel: New Order Criteria

The Enteric Pathogens PCR test performed by Spectrum Health Laboratory may be used to detect common pathogenic bacteria and viruses in stool collected from individuals with symptoms of gastrointestinal infection. Specifically, this test detects Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, Yersinia enterocolitica, Norovirus, Rotavirus, and the Shiga toxin virulence factor. Effective August 17, 2022, Spectrum Health’s Epic EMR will contain new ask-at-order questions to help improve the clinical decision support and appropriate utilization of this testing. Continue Reading

Chemistry, Test Spotlight

Reminder: Folate Test and Fasting

Folate (aka Folic Acid) is a test that requires the patient to be fasting in order for the results be accurate. Results are falsely elevated if the patient is not fasting.  Spectrum Health Laboratories recently updated our system to hard stop a test from being collected if the patient is not fasting. Please remind your patients to fast 8 hours prior to having their blood drawn.

Spectrum Health Laboratories recommends:

• No caloric or caffeine intake for 8-12 hours prior to testing. Do not eat or drink anything except normal amounts of plain water. This also includes no smoking, chewing gum, candy, cough drops, etc.

• Take normal dosages of medications unless the provider has instructed otherwise.

Click here for a list of tests the require or recommend fasting. Continue Reading