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Corewell Health System, Hematology

Schistocyte Review Test Now Available to Order

Effective Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Schistocyte Review (LAB1231565) will be available to order across all Corewell Health Laboratories Hematology Departments.

This new orderable supports alignment across Corewell Health regions by standardizing schistocyte assessment practices, ensuring high‑quality testing, and delivering a consistent patient care experience system‑wide

Schistocytes are red blood cell (RBC) fragments that lack central pallor. They are seen in severe burns, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), microangiopathic hemolytic anemias, and other causes of mechanical hemolysis.

The orderable will always be performed by techs under the microscope and involve examination of the red blood cell (RBC) morphology  to determine the average number of schistocytes observed in at least 8-10 fields.  It will be resulted as none seen, few, moderate, or many.

References:

  • Tefferi A, Elliott M, Schistocytes on the Peripheral Blood Smear, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 79809
  • Scordino, Teresa, Schistocytes, American Society of Hematology Image Bank, January 2016

 

April 23, 2026 by
Blood Bank, Compliance & Safety, Corewell Health System

Reminder Pre‑Surgical Type & Screen Orders

When ordering a Pre‑surgical Type & Screen, all required order questions must be completed accurately. These answers drive specimen routing, collection timing, and blood bank workflow in Epic.

Epic uses your responses to ensure testing is performed by the correct blood bank at the correct time. Incomplete or incorrect information can result in misrouted specimens, delays, rework, or redraws.

Providers must accurately complete:

  • Reason for ordering (surgery, procedure, transfusion, L&D)
  • Procedure location
  • Date of procedure
  • Recent transfusion or pregnancy history

Key location clarification (West Michigan)

  • BW/HDVCH/LHCP/MHC refers to Butterworth Hospital, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Lemmen Holton Cancer Pavilion, and Meijer Heart Center and is NOT the same as Blodgett Hospital located in East Grand Rapids.
  • These are distinct locations in Epic and route to different blood banks (Blodgett Blood Bank vs. Butterworth Blood Bank)

Why it matters

Incorrect or incomplete responses can lead to:

  • Delayed pre‑op testing
  • Extra time spent clarifying procedure details
  • Specimens sent to the wrong blood bank
  • Frustration for lab and clinical teams

Takeaway

  • Answer all Type & Screen order questions carefully
  • Select the exact facility where the procedure will occur
  • Avoid defaults or outdated favorites

Taking a few extra seconds to review these fields helps ensure timely testing and smoother pre‑surgical care.

Epic Care Teams: Please review “Orders – Type & Screen Ordering for Surgery/Procedure (Pre-surgical blood type specimen)” in Epic Education on SharePoint for detailed information.

April 15, 2026 by
Chemistry, West Michigan

Specimen Type Change for Outpatient Chemistry Tests – Effective December 3, 2025

Updated: 11/26/2025

Effective Date: December 3, 2025

What’s Changing?

The preferred specimen type for most outpatient Chemistry tests will change from: Lithium Heparin Gel PST (mint green-top with gel) to Serum Separator SST (gold-top with gel)

Gray-top tube (Potassium Oxalate & Sodium Fluoride) will now be the preferred tube for glucose testing. Gold-top SST will remain acceptable for glucose testing and preferred for panels that contain glucose testing.

Why the Change?

SST tubes provide improved specimen quality and stability, supporting more accurate test results.

Gray-top tubes contain additives that prevent glycolysis, ensuring more accurate glucose measurements.

Key Points

Gold-top SST is now the preferred tube for outpatient Chemistry specimens.

Light green-top PST will still be accepted for the respective tests.

Gray-top is the preferred tube for glucose testing; gold-top is acceptable and should still be used for panels containing glucose.

Resources

View Complete Test List

Updated Preferred Tube Quick Guide

Lab Catalog

(Note: This change only impacts West Michigan; Southeast and Southwest Michigan sites already use gold-top SST tubes for many of these tests.)

Questions?

Use the Contact Us link above.

November 21, 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: Continue Reading

July 18, 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.

Continue Reading

June 2, 2025 by
Advanced Technology Laboratory, Cytology, General Information

Reflex HPV Testing Update

Effective April 2, 2025, the Reflex HPV algorithm will more closely align with ASCCP recommendations. HPV testing will no longer be performed for a normal Pap result in patients aged 30 years and older when a provider orders HPV Reflex.

Specimens will qualify for HPV Reflex with a cytologic diagnosis of:

  • ASCUS (Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance) for patients aged 21 and older.
  • LSIL (Low Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion) for patients aged 25 and older.

HPV testing will continue to be performed for all Paps, regardless of results, for patients aged 30 years or older when a provider orders Co-Testing.

If a provider wishes to request HPV testing on a normal pap for patients under 30, they must either place an electronic order at the time of the initial pap order or request an add-on test for:

  • HPV High Risk Screen with HPV Genotype Reflex – Cervical Source (LAB1231770)
  • HPV High Risk Screen with HPV Genotype Reflex – Vaginal Source (LAB1230721)

Updated Pap and HPV Testing Algorithm

Continue Reading

March 28, 2025 by
Chemistry, General Information

Collection Device Update: Chemistry β-hCG testing

Effective March 21, 2025, Corewell Health Laboratories will update the preferred specimen type for β-hCG testing from plasma to serum (mint green top, lithium heparin gel to gold top, serum separator-SST gel). The move to serum is mostly driven by the laboratory’s need to reduce assay performance problems that can occur sporadically with the use of plasma. Although serum is the preferred specimen type plasma will remain an acceptable container.
If you have questions regarding the preanalytical handling process and the optimum tube offering, contact the lab for support.
TEST INFORMATION
March 17, 2025 by
Immunochemistry, Test Spotlight

Update to Reporting for Urine Protein Electrophoresis Tests

On March 12th, 2025, the reporting for Protein Electrophoresis, 24 Hour Urine, do IFE if Indicated (LAB111444) and Protein Electrophoresis, Random Urine, do IFE if Indicated (LAB111445) will be updated to harmonize with Monoclonal Gammopathy Screen (LAB1230573) and Protein Electrophoresis, Serum, IFE if Indicated (LAB844).

The changes that will occur include the following.

  1. A single interpretive comment (Pathologist Interpretation Urine Protein Electrophoresis) that will encompass both the electrophoresis portion of the test and any immunotyping.
  2. Quantitation of monoclonal proteins will no longer be part of the interpretation but rather documented as discrete fields under Urine Protein Electrophoresis in result review. As a result, the interpretation will not include a comment about how the monoclonal protein has changed between studies.
  3. The quantitation of the monoclonal protein will only include mg/24-hour concentration and not the percentage.

TEST INFORMATION

  • Protein Electrophoresis, 24 Hour Urine, do IFE if Indicated (LAB111444)
  • Protein Electrophoresis, Random Urine, do IFE if Indicated (LAB111445)

Performing department: Immunochemistry (Corewell Health Reference Laboratory-West, Grand Rapids, MI)

March 9, 2025 by