News & Communications
Mantoux testing service resumed
We are pleased to inform you that Labtests’s Mantoux testing service is now operational. This test is available to be booked at Mt Wellington or Henderson Labtests centres only. Please book via our call centre on 09 574 7399 option 4. We want to thank you for your patience and understanding whilst we worked to […]
Skin prick testing referrals
Wait times have increased to 4 weeks in the Northland region and over 6 weeks in the Auckland region for skin prick testing. To help reduce demand, please consider if skin prick testing is right for your patient. Skin prick testing identifies IgE antibodies. It is not helpful in non-IgE mediated conditions such as food […]
Discontinuation of paper copies of laboratory results
When Labtests started out, referrers were given the option of receiving paper copies in addition to HL7 results. Some elected to have results sent both electronically and as paper copies. We are reviewing our policies and believe this practice is outdated and may no longer be required by these referrers. We feel the discontinuation of […]
Northern region syphillis re-screen consultation
Proposed addition of syphilis re-screening to routine third trimester antenatal blood tests in the Northern Region Laboratory consultation: Te Whatu Ora Northern Region Laboratories, Labtests, and Northland Pathology Executive summary Congenital syphilis rates are increasing in the Northern Region, almost exclusively affecting Māori and Pacific people. We are proposing additional syphilis screening for women in […]
The Scope: February 2023
In this issue you will find: Please find the latest edition of our newsletter here.
Lab Update: Critical Biochemistry Analyser Issues
Due to significant analyser issues we are unable to process all of the biochemistry and serology requests on the same day. This affects sample from 05/12/2022 to the current time. We are working with our supplier to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. Urgent samples are being processed as a priority and we are […]
Change to D-dimer phone reporting
Labtests is changing the phoning procedure for positive D-dimers. Previously all positive D-dimers have been phoned through on the assumption that the D-dimer is being performed to rule out a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolus (PE) where the patient is deemed at low risk of DVT( Wells score <2) or moderate risk of […]
NEW! – request form email address
Attention Medical Practitioners, Labtests now has activated a centralized receipt point for any request forms to be emailed to: auk.request.forms@awanuilabs.co.nz. You no longer need to send the request form to the patients preferred collection centre. If you need to email the patients request form, please send to auk.request.forms@awanuilabs.co.nz. Please also put the patients NHI number or […]
The next generation of prenatal screening now in NZ
We’re excited to announce the next generation of non-invasive prenatal screening, Illumiscreen, is now available in Aotearoa New Zealand from across the APHG laboratory network. Non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS), sometimes known as NIPT, has been available for quite some time to screen fetal DNA for trisomy 21 (Down), 18 (Edward), 13 (Patau). We now have the latest […]
Lab Update: Critical shortage of reagents for lipids resolved
We are pleased to inform you that we have received our shipment of lipid reagents and are able to process all lipid profiles going forward. Please note that profiles taken last week that were not flagged as urgent will not be able to be processed due to age of sample and work volumes. We want […]