A skilled nursing facility leans on its lab every day. Routine blood work drives medication changes, a UTI result decides whether a resident starts antibiotics, and a respiratory panel can determine whether a wing goes into isolation. When the lab is slow or hard to reach, your nurses and your residents feel it first.
If you are reviewing your lab partner, these are the questions that separate a good fit from a constant headache.
How quickly do routine results come back?
Ask for turnaround counted from when the lab receives the specimen, not from when it is resulted. At Total Lab Solutions, routine blood work is reported within 24 hours of receipt. Our in-house menu covers 9 panels and 60 individual tests, including CBC, metabolic panels, A1c, thyroid tests, PT/INR, BNP, and drug levels for carbamazepine, Keppra, and valproic acid.
What happens with a critical value?
A critical result should never wait in a portal. Ask who is called, and how fast. At TLS, critical values are called to the ordering provider.
Do results flow into your EHR?
Re-keying results is where errors and delays creep in. TLS interfaces with PointClickCare, along with athenahealth, Aprima, Allscripts, eClinicalWorks, and many other systems. Results are also available in our provider portal.
How are specimens picked up?
Ask whether pickup is scheduled, on call, or both, and whether the lab uses its own couriers. TLS couriers pick up from facilities statewide, on a schedule or on call.
What about infections that keep coming back?
Urinary tract and wound infections are among the most common reasons residents receive antibiotics, and culture often returns “mixed flora” or nothing at all. PCR testing names the organisms present and reports resistance genes, which supports your antibiotic stewardship program.
TLS offers PCR panels for UTI, wound, and GI infections, with results within 48 hours of receipt.
Can the lab support you during an outbreak?
When respiratory illness moves through a facility, you need answers for many residents at once. Our respiratory panels cover influenza A and B, RSV, and COVID-19 on the mini panel, and 50 targets on the comprehensive panel. We coordinate collection and pickup for long-term care facilities during outbreaks.
Is on-site phlebotomy available?
This varies by lab and by location. At TLS it depends on your location and volume, so ask us and we will tell you what we can arrange.
Who answers the phone?
The last question is the simplest. When a nurse calls about a missing result at 4 p.m., does a person who knows your account pick up? Our team is in Troy, and you reach us directly.
To talk about lab services for your facility, call (248) 800-6626 or open a provider account.
