How Do Reference Labs Help In Infectious Disease Testing?

Reference labs are a relatively new concept in the world of clinical diagnostic laboratories. However, they are quickly becoming an essential part of the standard laboratory workflow. While reference labs can be found throughout Europe and Asia for years now, North America has just started adopting this model with much success.

Reference labs serve as a backup to clinical diagnostic laboratories for Molecular diagnostic infectious disease testing.

They offer additional testing capabilities that may not be available at smaller sites due to space or staffing constraints. These labs are often used to validate the results of clinical diagnostic labs. They can also be used to test samples from patients who have been diagnosed with a disease and who may need further testing or treatment.

For example, an infectious disease lab may only have one technician on staff but still needs to maintain a high level of service for its customers. By sending specimens out for confirmatory testing at a reference lab instead of doing it all in-house, the workload is reduced so that more patients can still receive timely results from their primary test facility."

For example, if a patient has been diagnosed with malaria, it's common for that patient's doctor to send their sample off to an independent reference lab for further analysis and confirmation of their diagnosis.

End note

In conclusion, we can say that reference labs are an important part of the health care system. They offer molecular diagnostic infectious disease testing that clinical diagnostic labs may not have the capacity or expertise to do themselves.