Tag Archives: Laboratory test naming

September 2023—Ambiguities, inconsistencies, omissions, and other defects in the naming of laboratory tests can send test orders and results interpretation awry, particularly with some of the most common tests. Even among clinicians and laboratorians working at the same hospital for years, smooth sailing is not guaranteed. The authors of a study published in Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine hope to change that. Their aim is to alert patient-facing providers and laboratories to the risks that ambiguous or nonstandardized laboratory test naming poses and to provide practical rules for minimizing those risks.

February 2022—Ask TRUU-Lab founder Ila Singh, MD, PhD, what’s in a name and she will provide an answer that differs greatly from that of Shakespeare’s Juliet Capulet. According to Dr. Singh, the answer can be too much information, not enough information, or ambiguous terminology—when referring to lab test names, that is.