Compliance & Safety

Inclusion of a Third Patient Identifier on Paper-Based Orders to Increase Safety

To enhance patient safety, we are implementing a requirement for paper-based orders to include a minimum of three patient identifiers.

Effective June 30, 2025, all paper-based orders (including add-on orders) must include at least three patient identifiers. Patient’s Legal Name and Date of Birth must match the ones on the specimen’s label, and the third must match the identifier in the Electronic Health Record (EHR). Any extra identifiers on the specimen label must also match the ones on the paperwork and in the EHR.

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May 14, 2025 by
Hematology

Hematology Testing Updates (Corewell Health West Michigan)

Effective Wednesday, July 30, 2025, changes to result reporting will be implemented across all Hematology Departments at Corewell Health Laboratories. These updates will help align all regions within Corewell Health Hematology Departments to provide a high-quality and standardize patient care experience.

The following are the most impactful changes for the Corewell Health West Michigan Region:

  • The Immature Platelet Fraction (IPF) will continue to be performed once every 24 hours if the platelet count is <100 x10^9/L, but the IPF results will now be located within the CBC.
  • The ‘immature cells’ component of the manual differential will be changed to ‘other cells’.
  • The Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) within a CBC w/Differential order will be EITHER an Automated ANC or a Manual ANC.
    • A CBC with Differential order with an automated differential will receive the automated ANC. A CBC with Differential order reflexing to a Manual Differential will receive a manual ANC.
  • The RBC Morphology will no longer include Anisocytosis, Microcytosis, or Macrocytosis components.
  • The RBC Morphology grading will change from “Moderate/Many” to “Present” for the following components:
    • Sickle Cells
    • Basophilic Stippling
    • Howell Jolly Bodies
    • Pappenheimer Bodies
    • Toxic Granulation
    • Dohle bodies
    • Vacuolated Neutrophils
    • Neutrophil Hypogranulation
    • Giant Platelets
  • The following RBC Morphology components will STILL be reported as Moderate/Many:
    • Hypochromia
    • Polychromasia
    • Schistocytes (Few, Moderate, Many)
    • Bite Cells
    • Spherocytes
    • Target Cells
    • Teardrop Cells
    • Acanthocytes
    • Blister Cells
    • Echinocytes
    • Macro Ovalocytes
  • Given the limited clinical utility and labor intensiveness of performing RBC counts, lower reportable limit for non-cerebrospinal fluid (non-CSF) body fluid red blood cell (RBC) counts will be updated to 2000 cells/uL. This means, if an RBC count on a non-CSF Body Fluid is <2000 cells/uL, Epic will report out the RBC count as <2000 cells/uL.
    • CSF will continue to report out all RBCs present within the cell count.

References:

  1. Kjeldsberg CR, Hussong, JW: Body Fluid Analysis. ASCP Press; 2015
  2. Collins, l. Examination of Body Fluids: Evaluating Gross Appearance; Performing Cell Counts. Clin Lab Sci 2009;22(1):46
July 18, 2025 by
General Information

Test Update: PD-L1

Effective July 30, 2025, PD-L1 testing will be performed at Corewell Health Reference Laboratory East and will no longer be a sendout to Neogenomics. Collection instructions and other information may have changed, please visit the lab catalog for more information.

For questions and inquiries, please use the “Contact Us” link above.

 

TEST INFORMATION

New test: PD-L1 [LAB3658]

Former test: PD-L1 to Neogenomics (LAB848)

July 18, 2025 by
General Information

Reminder: Specific Tests and Their Collection Sites (Corewell Health West)

In January 2025, Corewell Health Laboratories closed Butterworth Outpatient Lab (100 Michigan St.) and opened a new draw site at 275 Michigan Street.

With this transition, there are changes to the testing services previously provided at Butterworth Outpatient Lab. The following tests cannot be collected at the outpatient draw site at 275 Michigan but can be collected at the Lab at the Outpatient Center in 35 Michigan St., regardless of the patient’s age:

  • Ammonia
  • Cryoglobulin
  • Venous Blood Gas
  • Platelet Aggregation
  • Cold Agglutinin Titer
  • Carboxyhemoglobin
  • Lactic Acid
  • Lactate/Pyruvate Ratio
  • Verify Now
  • Gene Therapy High Sensitivity Troponin I

Please note that some of these tests can be drawn at other Corewell Hospital Lab locations within the system, but not all. Check the lab catalog for specific requirements for these tests (e.g., authorization needed, by appointment only, etc.). Ensure this information is communicated to your patients for whom these tests have been ordered.

July 3, 2025 by
General Information

Test Update: Vitamin D Testing Via Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LAB1230925)

Corewell Health Laboratories has discontinued routine Vitamin D testing via Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LAB1230925). The new test for diagnosing Vitamin D insufficiency and monitoring therapy is Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy (LAB1231583), performed daily using an in-house immunoassay method.

Vitamin D screening for deficiency/insufficiency will now be conducted via immunoassay. Current requests for Vitamin D2/D3 by Mass Spectrometry will be sent out.

For any questions or concerns, please contact the Corewell Health West Laboratory.

 

TEST INFORMATION

Discontinue: LAB1230925 25-Hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3, Serum

Replacement: LAB1231583 Vitamin D 25 Hydroxy

June 27, 2025 by
Chemistry

βhCG Preliminary Results

Effective June 4, 2025, Corewell Health Laboratories will include a preliminary result of >10000 mIU/mL for Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG + β) (LAB142) specimens that require dilution. The preliminary result will provide a quick insight on the status of the βhCG quantification analysis. It is important to remember that these results are not definitive, therefore final interpretation should be made alongside the fully validated results.

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June 2, 2025 by