Dear mailbase

As a private laboratory we process HBA1c as a stat test with the associated urgent phoning, emailing, faxing, delivering etc of results. The argument behind this is mainly our diabetic clinics, where patients often come from afar and hence only follow up every 3 months. These patients spend the whole day at such a clinic for "a full service" i.e. their doctor's appointment, dietician appointment, lab tests etc. It is imperative under these circumstances for the physician to have the complete profile in order to adjust treatment if necessary and to counsel the patient where previous control was poor before the patient leaves.
So despite the fact that HBA1c is not an urgent test under normal circumstances, it does make sense if a patient is not easily reachable after his/her consultation.
HBA1c should not be used for diagnostic purposes.

Regards
Melissa


On 14 Mar 2014, at 10:37 AM, Reynolds Tim (RJF) BHFT wrote:

 
We have just received a letter from a GP asking whether it would be possible for us to phone HbA1c results on teenagers IF they are raised AND IF ther are the first ever HbA1c. We have never previously phoned these on the basis that HbA1c is not a diagnostic tool for type I diabetes.
 
What is the combined wisdom of the mailbase? Do others feel this is a reasonable extensionto the workload of an over-worked section - or is it an essential notification that GPs should receive?
 
Over to the cloud...



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------ACB discussion List Information-------- This is an open discussion list for the academic and clinical community working in clinical biochemistry. Please note, archived messages are public and can be viewed via the internet. Views expressed are those of the individual and they are responsible for all message content. ACB Web Site http://www.acb.org.uk Green Laboratories Work http://www.laboratorymedicine.nhs.uk List Archives http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ACB-CLIN-CHEM-GEN.html List Instructions (How to leave etc.) http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/