[AnnGill]

I went to Urgent Care to get a drug test done because I thought I had been drugged at a party. Urine and blood samples were taken and I received all kinds of information except what I asked for. The tests were done at the Villages Hospital by Alliance. I waited three days to get the “pending” results back only to learn that the tests were not performed because, according to Urgent Care, there wasn’t enough of a sample and I had to go back. Go back after 4 days to do another drug test? There would be nothing to test. Has anyone else failed to get appropriate lab tests done at the patient’s request?

[Debfrommaine]

Yes, sometimes the blood can clot in the tube or not enough urine sample is given. Been there, done that, it can happen. Mine was not at Alliance Lab but another lab.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by AnnGill

I went to Urgent Care to get a drug test done because I thought I had been drugged at a party. Urine and blood samples were taken and I received all kinds of information except what I asked for. The tests were done at the Villages Hospital by Alliance. I waited three days to get the “pending” results back only to learn that the tests were not performed because, according to Urgent Care, there wasn’t enough of a sample and I had to go back. Go back after 4 days to do another drug test? There would be nothing to test. Has anyone else failed to get appropriate lab tests done at the patient’s request?

"Thought I had been drugged," i expect the hospital deliberately kept you around to be sure you were OK.

IF, you had been drinking, your blood vessels close down and it could have made it difficult to get a sample.

CLEARLY, there is far more to this story. I doubt anyone can order their own blood tests without a doctor's prescription and proof that payment will be made.

[blueash]

Please contact the lab and directly ask
"what volume of urine and blood did you need to be able to complete the order? What volume of urine and blood did you receive?" What specific tests were ordered? Was it a panel where all the tests were done on a single pass thru an instrument, or was each test to be done separately on part of your sample.. if so did they complete any of the tested drugs?

You know about how much urine you provided. Quest can do a fairly complete screening on one ounce of urine, that's 2 tablespoons. It is the responsibility of the doctor's office to be sure that they know the required sample size and type for the test being ordered. If you don't know, pick up the phone and call the lab and ask. "We need to test for drugs of abuse, your panel A-1234, what do you need to run that test"

You also know how much blood they collected. You may or may not have noticed what color stopper the blood tube had. The receiving lab should be able to tell you whether the problem was not receiving the blood in the correct tube, or they received the correct type tube but a too small sample.

You can get a copy of what tests were ordered, if you don't already have that information. If you have a suspicion about a particular drug having been given to you, google to find out whether hair testing for a single exposure is a useful test.

My past experience, not with Alliance labs, was that QNS [quantity not sufficient] was reported immediately, not listed as pending unless that lab did not even look at your sample for several days and pending was used to mean the test has been ordered and we've done nothing. Hopefully the receiving lab would check the sample received against the test ordered immediately when the sample reached the lab even if the test itself was not to be run for a day or two? No idea how often they run drug screen testing in a non emergency situation.

And no, alcohol does not make it difficult to draw blood. [unless the alcohol is in the phlebotomist]

[EPutnam1863]

Originally Posted by suesiegel

"Thought I had been drugged," i expect the hospital deliberately kept you around to be sure you were OK.

IF, you had been drinking, your blood vessels close down and it could have made it difficult to get a sample.

CLEARLY, there is far more to this story. I doubt anyone can order their own blood tests without a doctor's prescription and proof that payment will be made.

Correct, Sue. Having had tick-related disease one year, I went to Urgent Care when I was bitten again by a tick. I asked them to test my blood to make sure I was not having the disease again. They said I would have to go through my private provider to have the test ordered. This was on a Saturday morning.

[EPutnam1863]

Originally Posted by blueash

Please contact the lab and directly ask
"what volume of urine and blood did you need to be able to complete the order? What volume of urine and blood did you receive?" What specific tests were ordered? Was it a panel where all the tests were done on a single pass thru an instrument, or was each test to be done separately on part of your sample.. if so did they complete any of the tested drugs?

You know about how much urine you provided. Quest can do a fairly complete screening on one ounce of urine, that's 2 tablespoons. It is the responsibility of the doctor's office to be sure that they know the required sample size and type for the test being ordered. If you don't know, pick up the phone and call the lab and ask. "We need to test for drugs of abuse, your panel A-1234, what do you need to run that test"

You also know how much blood they collected. You may or may not have noticed what color stopper the blood tube had. The receiving lab should be able to tell you whether the problem was not receiving the blood in the correct tube, or they received the correct type tube but a too small sample.

You can get a copy of what tests were ordered, if you don't already have that information. If you have a suspicion about a particular drug having been given to you, google to find out whether hair testing for a single exposure is a useful test.

My past experience, not with Alliance labs, was that QNS [quantity not sufficient] was reported immediately, not listed as pending unless that lab did not even look at your sample for several days and pending was used to mean the test has been ordered and we've done nothing. Hopefully the receiving lab would check the sample received against the test ordered immediately when the sample reached the lab even if the test itself was not to be run for a day or two? No idea how often they run drug screen testing in a non emergency situation.

And no, alcohol does not make it difficult to draw blood. [unless the alcohol is in the phlebotomist]

Some urine samples need to "age" a couple of days or so before they can be tested. I found this out when I had urinary tract infection.

[rubicon]

I'm still at" went to a party and thought I was drugged"

[blueash]

Originally Posted by EPutnam1863

Some urine samples need to "age" a couple of days or so before they can be tested. I found this out when I had urinary tract infection.

Completely misunderstood the information you may have received. A urine test for infection does not "age". The freshly collected urine is incubated in appropriate media such as agar, and it takes from twelve to 48 hours for the growth of bacterial colonies to be detected, isolated, identified, and determination of sensitivities of that organism to common antibiotics determined. In no way is the urine aging. Much like planting seeds and having to wait for them to germinate. And a test for drugs is done on fresh urine, or urine properly preserved or frozen if there is going to be any delay.

[aninjamom]

If you think you were deliberately drugged at a party, you need to change your social circle, and fast!

[dddave]

Originally Posted by AnnGill

I went to Urgent Care to get a drug test done because I thought I had been drugged at a party. Urine and blood samples were taken and I received all kinds of information except what I asked for. The tests were done at the Villages Hospital by Alliance. I waited three days to get the “pending” results back only to learn that the tests were not performed because, according to Urgent Care, there wasn’t enough of a sample and I had to go back. Go back after 4 days to do another drug test? There would be nothing to test. Has anyone else failed to get appropriate lab tests done at the patient’s request?

The lab testing companies around The Villages have changed the quality of their services to match that of the world class Villages Health System (oops! I forgot the word "bottom" between "world" and "class".

On to answering the primary post:

My wife needed a CT scan of her abdomen and pelvis, ordered by our PCP. The results and analysis came back. I will read several quotes from it –

- Paragraph 1: The gallbladder is not identified. There are post-surgical clips in the gallbladder area.

(This is all true since my wife had her gallbladder removed in the 1990’s)

- Paragraph 2: Probable stone in the gallbladder.

SAME REPORT:

- Paragraph 1: The right kidney is normal. The left kidney suggested calcification.

- Paragraph 2: Probable calcification in the right kidney.

It doesn’t stop there. My wife went back the lab to request that the radiologist re-read the scan and correct the report. The next day she called the lab to see when she could get a copy of the corrected report. The answer –

“The doctor said he is not going to reread it. He says it is correct as he wrote it the first time.”

Even our PCP (who is the only doctor in The Villages I can trust), could not budge the radiologist off his incorrect and incompetent stance.

Later, Our PCP, ordered an MRI of my wife’s stomach, from another lab. To quote from that report –
“Gallbladder normal.”

If this had been a CT and MRI looking for cancer, And the cancer surgeon relied on these reports, my wife would probably be dead by now.

I feel that living under the Morse family medical system, is like being stranded on a desert island, where the primary medical care is provided by a witch doctor who is the son-in-law of the king. On this island the deadliest disease is to criticize the witch doctor.

[dddave]

Originally Posted by blueash

Please contact the lab and directly ask
"what volume of urine and blood did you need to be able to complete the order? What volume of urine and blood did you receive?" What specific tests were ordered? Was it a panel where all the tests were done on a single pass thru an instrument, or was each test to be done separately on part of your sample.. if so did they complete any of the tested drugs?

You know about how much urine you provided. Quest can do a fairly complete screening on one ounce of urine, that's 2 tablespoons. It is the responsibility of the doctor's office to be sure that they know the required sample size and type for the test being ordered. If you don't know, pick up the phone and call the lab and ask. "We need to test for drugs of abuse, your panel A-1234, what do you need to run that test"

You also know how much blood they collected. You may or may not have noticed what color stopper the blood tube had. The receiving lab should be able to tell you whether the problem was not receiving the blood in the correct tube, or they received the correct type tube but a too small sample.

You can get a copy of what tests were ordered, if you don't already have that information. If you have a suspicion about a particular drug having been given to you, google to find out whether hair testing for a single exposure is a useful test.

My past experience, not with Alliance labs, was that QNS [quantity not sufficient] was reported immediately, not listed as pending unless that lab did not even look at your sample for several days and pending was used to mean the test has been ordered and we've done nothing. Hopefully the receiving lab would check the sample received against the test ordered immediately when the sample reached the lab even if the test itself was not to be run for a day or two? No idea how often they run drug screen testing in a non emergency situation.

And no, alcohol does not make it difficult to draw blood. [unless the alcohol is in the phlebotomist]

I,f as you say the doctor is responsible for writing the order correctly, why should she even have to call the lab? The call goes to the doctor, and the conversation, in a nutshell, is "You are responsible, please find out what happened, and let me know. Thanks. Bye".

However, I have had similar problems in the past, and the follow through by the doctor did not happen. So your advice to call the lab is practical and good, but that is only because the doctoring was bad.