The Importance of Laboratory Testing for Telemedicine Patients
Laboratory testing provides invaluable insights into a patient’s health status and is an essential component of quality medical care. Whether a patient is evaluated remotely through telemedicine or in-person during an office visit, diagnostic testing grants objective data that allows proper diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of their condition.
Without the information gained from blood tests, tissue biopsies, urinalysis, and other lab work, countless diseases and disorders would go undetected or misunderstood. By measuring substance levels, detecting markers, and analyzing samples, laboratory services unveil health truths that cannot be obtained through examination alone.
Enhancing Virtual Care
For telemedicine providers, ordering evidence-based lab testing helps compensate for the lack of hands-on diagnostic capabilities during virtual visits. While telehealth allows patients to conveniently connect with doctors through video chat from home, providers cannot physically listen to heart or lung sounds, palpate the abdomen, or conduct other aspects of an in-clinic exam.
But with strategically ordered lab tests, they can still uncover issues like anemia, kidney dysfunction, elevated cholesterol, and thyroid disorders, as well as monitor chronic illnesses. Thus, laboratory services greatly enhance the quality of care that can be delivered remotely.
Complementing In-Office Evaluations
In-office providers also heavily rely on laboratory data to supplement their hands-on physical evaluations. While they can identify some signs of disease through the exam, many conditions only manifest definitively through blood or urine testing. Doctors also use laboratory services to confirm or rule out initial diagnostic hypotheses based on a patient’s symptoms and their clinical assessment.
Even basic complete blood counts provide vital information about red and white blood cell levels that cannot be obtained otherwise. This is why many physicians have quick-result lab equipment right in their office suites. For more extensive testing, samples can be sent to external accredited diagnostic laboratories
Accessibility for All Patients
Patients today have many options when it comes to conveniently accessing laboratory services. Telehealth patients can have blood draws, swabs, urine samples, and other specimens collected at home for testing by having a phlebotomist or nurse come directly to their residence. Home-based specimen collection provides efficient lab access while maintaining the telemedicine benefits of reduced exposure risks and no need to visit a medical facility.
Direct-to-consumer lab testing is also increasingly available, allowing patients to order laboratory tests themselves without a physician’s order. These services utilize secure online portals for seamless access.
For patients who prefer or require in-office care, many doctors provide speedy in-house testing for common blood counts, cultures, flu screens and more to inform real-time clinical decision-making during the visit. For more complex diagnostics like genetic marker analysis or tissue biopsies, samples will be referred to highly specialized independent laboratories with extensive technical capabilities and expertise.