A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

1.2c - Priority of tests

Message
PRIORITY OF TESTS


 
  1. The physician should indicate the urgency of the laboratory test request according to one of the following categories: STAT or Routine.
  2. All procedures marked "STAT" will be done before any routine tests (scheduled as part of the daily routine) and should be available within one hour. Exceptions to the one hour stat turnaround time expectation would be abnormal or suspect results which require additional testing procedures to verify the accuracy of the results prior to result release, instances where a manual test procedure is indicated by an abnormal or suspect automated result, testing with extended analytical test time (e.g, COVID PCR) or samples that require additional time to clot (e.g, serum samples).
  3. When an emergency turnaround is required, this should be indicated on the requisition (if one is provided) or lab notified via telephone as: EMERGENCY: Call Ext. or Beeper
  4. If a blood specimen is hand delivered to the laboratory, a verbal indication that this is an emergency will be sufficient to establish this priority.
  5. All blood gases are treated as emergency procedures.
  6. Tests marked routine will be performed during the routine operation of the laboratory and will be processed in the order of receipt. Results will be available on the day of request or processed according to the routine handling of the test in the laboratory. For example: homocysteine is not performed on a daily basis, but will be performed routinely by the laboratory on the designated day. Results will be available when the test is completed.
  7. For turn-around times of specific tests see the individual test listing.
  8. If testing is excessively delayed, individual lab sections will contact providers and/or wards or referring labs.
TEST WX JP BRK BED Day Shift Only Done at least once/shift By Request on Off Shift
Ammonia √            
Amylase √ √ √ √      
APTT √ √ √ √      
Blood Bank – ABO/Rh √            
Blood Bank – Type and Cross √            
Blood Bank – Type and Screen √            
Blood Bank- Transfusion Reaction Work-up √            
Blood Gases √ √ √        
               
Body Fluid Cell Count √            
Body Fluid Differential √         √  
BUN √ √ √ √      
Calcium √ √ √ √      
Carbamazepine √ √          
CBC & Differential (Auto) √ √ √ √      
CBC Profile √ √ √ √      
CK √ √ √ √      
CK-MB √            
Clozapine √            
Creatinine √ √ √ √      
CSF – Cell Count * √            
CSF – Cryptococcal Antigen * √       √    
CSF – Glucose * √ √          
CSF – Total Protein * √ √          
CSF- Culture & Gram Stain * √       √    
CSF- Differential Smear * √            
D-Dimer √   √        
Differential, manual √ √ √ √   √  
Digoxin √ √ √        
Electrolytes √ √ √ √      
Ethanol √ √ √ √      
Fecal Occult Blood (Random) √ √ √ √      
Ferritin √ √ √        
Fibrinogen √            
Frozen Section - call/page Anatomic Pathologist on-call (#3 On-Call Schedule posted on website for Pathology & Laboratory Medicine) √ √          
Gentamicin √            
Glucose √ √ √ √      
HCG Qualitative √ √ √ √      
HCG Quantitative √     √      
HIV ab rapid √            
Ketone √ √ √        
Lactic Acid √   √        
Lipase √ √ √        
Lithium √   √ √      
Liver Function Tests (SGPT/ALT, ALK PHOS, SGOT/AST, T.BILI, TP, ALB) √ √ √ √      
Magnesium √ √ √ √      
Microbiology – Gram Stain √       √    
Microbiology – COVID-19/Influenza A/Influenza B/RSV √ √ √ √      
Microbiology – MTB PCR √       √    
Microbiology – Planting Cultures √            
Microbiology – Respiratory Pathogen Panel (in house) √       √    
Microbiology – Stool PCR (C.Diff/Norovirus/Gastrointestinal) √            
NT-pro BNP √   √        
Osmolality √       √    
OVDS Serum (acetaminophen, salicylate, tricyclics, ethanol)
WX & BRK performs entire Overdose Screen (acetaminophen, salicylate, tricyclics, ethanol). JP performs partial Overdose Screen (acetaminophen, salicylate, ethanol) and then sends the sample to WX for tricyclics)		 √ √ √        
OVDS Urine √ √ √ √      
Ph √     √      
Phenytoin √ √          
Phosphorous √ √ √ √      
PT/INR √ √ √ √      
PTH Intact (ordered stat urgency by Operating Room, all other locations order as Routine urgency) √            
Theophylline √            
Troponin HS √ √ √ √      
Tricyclic √   √        
Urinalysis √ √ √ √      
Urine Chemistries √ √          
Valproic Acid √ √ √ √      
Vancomycin √   √ √      
______________________________________________________________________________
KEY:
* CSF Tubes #1 and #4 to Hematology, #2 to Chemistry, and #3 to Microbiology
(WX) PERFORMED AT WEST ROXBURY DIVISION
(JP) PERFORMED AT JAMAICA PLAIN DIVISION
(BRK) PERFORMED AT BROCKTON DIVISION
(BED) PERFORMED AT BEDFORD DIVISION
 
______________________________________________________________________________
BEDFORD AFTER-HOURS STATS: CALL OR PAGE AOD TO HAVE SPECIMENS TRANSPORTED TO THE WEST ROXBURY (WX) LAB FOR TESTING. 
BROCKTON AFTER-HOURS STATS: CALL BROCKTON URGENT CARE TO HAVE SPECIMENS TRANSPORTED TO THE WEST ROXBURY (WX) LAB FOR TESTING
JP AFTER-HOURS STATS: Call WEST ROXBURY (WX) LAB at 857-203-5973 to have specimens transported to the West Roxbury (WX) Lab for testing.

 


Test Code
Priority of Tests



Last Updated: January 20, 2026


The CPT Codes provided in this document are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payor being billed. Any Profile/panel component may be ordered separately. Reflex tests are performed at an additional charge.