Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Saturday, 4 August, 2001
Very often patients will be left confused by the shorthand used by doctors to tell laboratories what they are testing for.
On some occasions patients will not even know why they are being sent for the tests in question.
But the site - Lab Tests Online - hopes to shed light on a problematic area and includes information on common tests for HIV, cholesterol, and screening tests for various cancers.
There is also a section on the laboratory tests normally ordered during pregnancy.
The website was launched during the American Association for Clinical Chemistry annual meeting in Chicago.
Bad news or not?
Larry Kricka, president of the group which has developed the site, said: "Often people get the wrong idea about their test results.
"They see 'elevated values' and immediately think the worst. In some areas, people do not appreciate the seriousness of elevated values.
"This site will help with that by explaining what elevated values mean in a way everyone will understand."
To help patients use the site, the site will provide a checklist that patients can take with them when they visit a doctor - when the doctor orders a test, they can cross it off on the sheet and then refer to it later.
Dr David Sundwall, president of the American Clinical Laboratory Association, which sponsors the site, said: "Consumers who have been frustrated with the cryptic computer print-outs of their lab tests results in the past will find Lab Tests Online an invaluable learning tool."
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