astridfeline

Hi Scott,
Billing is an entirely different matter than counting tests for CLIA.  Refer to page 9 of CMS form 116.  For hematology then, hematocrit and MCHC are not counted because they are calculated, not measured. Thanks,
Rachel
cms116.pdf

We are going to the ILHS recommendations for lymphocytosis instead.  >5.0 (adult) or >7.0 (<12 yrs old)

Yes the ED is in the same building.  And we have a pneumatic tube system and a fully automated Lab.  But the ED docs are pushing for a ton of Point of Care testing, and we already have tons of problems with compliance with the POC that we already have.  So the edict came down: either tons of POC testing or a satellite STAT Lab.
The problem with our current TAT for the ED is the very high volume of pre-analytical errors (mislabeling, short draws, clotted/hemolyzed specimens, etc).  They think that if they just do all the Lab testing themselves, they will get instant results.  So when told I have to do one or the other, I picked the STAT Lab.  At least I can staff it with a Lab tech.