Laboratory

A standard laboratory panel measuring key blood chemistry values including glucose, calcium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen. BMP results are documented in EHR laboratory systems using LOINC codes and used in inpatient monitoring, ED assessment, and chronic disease management.

A laboratory measurement of C-reactive protein concentration in blood, expressed in mg/L, used as a nonspecific marker of systemic inflammation, infection, and tissue injury. High-sensitivity CRP below 1.0 mg/L indicates low cardiovascular risk, 1.0-3.0 mg/L indicates average risk, and above 3.0 mg/L indicates elevated cardiovascular risk. CRP is used in cardiovascular risk stratification and monitoring of inflammatory disease activity.

A laboratory measurement of CD4+ T-lymphocyte count in blood, expressed as cells/uL, used to assess immune system status in HIV infection and guide decisions about opportunistic infection prophylaxis and antiretroviral therapy initiation. CD4 counts below 200 cells/uL define AIDS and indicate high risk for opportunistic infections. CD4 count monitoring is a component of HIV population health quality measures.

A standard laboratory panel measuring the cellular components of blood including red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets. CBC results are documented in EHR laboratory systems using LOINC codes and used in routine health screening, anemia workup, and infection monitoring.

A standardized laboratory test panel captured in EHR and claims systems using LOINC codes, measuring 14 blood chemistry values including glucose, electrolytes, kidney, and liver function. CMP results inform chronic disease management workflows in clinical data warehouses.

A laboratory measurement of HIV RNA copies per mL of blood plasma, used to monitor HIV disease progression and antiretroviral therapy effectiveness. Undetectable viral load below 20-200 copies/mL depending on assay platform indicates effective viral suppression and is associated with prevention of AIDS progression. HIV viral load monitoring frequency is defined by HIV management guidelines and used in population health analytics tracking viral suppression rates.

A clinical specialty and laboratory discipline focused on disorders of the blood and blood-forming organs, including anemia, clotting disorders, and leukemia. In healthcare data systems, hematology encompasses lab result domains such as CBC panels, coagulation studies, and bone marrow reports, which are stored in EHR and LIS platforms and exchanged via HL7 interfaces.

A Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes standardized code assigned to a laboratory observation or clinical measurement, providing a universal identifier enabling consistent electronic exchange of laboratory results across different laboratory information systems and EHR platforms. LOINC codes have six components: component, property, time aspect, system, scale type, and method. LOINC is the required standard for laboratory result exchange under HIPAA and CMS interoperability regulations.

A clinical discipline and data domain encompassing the examination of tissue, cell, and bodily fluid specimens to diagnose disease. In healthcare data systems including LIS, EHR, and claims platforms, pathology data includes surgical pathology, cytology, and autopsy records coded using CPT, SNOMED, and ICD systems, requiring specialized data engineering pipelines to manage unstructured report text alongside structured result fields.

Coded representation of the anatomical origin or material type of a biological specimen, such as blood, urine, or CSF, stored as a standardized code in LIS and EHR systems. Data engineers use this field for specimen classification, test panel validation, result routing logic, and cross-system laboratory data harmonization pipelines.

A licensed clinician specializing in communication and swallowing disorders, identified by provider type codes in EHR, claims, and credentialing systems. Data engineers use SLP taxonomy codes (e.g., NUCC 235Z00000X) to filter therapy claims, validate provider credentials, and support care coordination analytics across rehabilitation datasets.

A coded indicator identifying whether a laboratory result falls outside the established reference range, with common values including H (high), L (low), HH (critically high), LL (critically low), A (abnormal for qualitative results), and N (normal). Abnormal flags are generated by laboratory instruments and are critical for clinical alerting, quality measure calculations, and population health analytics identifying patients with out-of-range laboratory values.

A unique identifier assigned by the laboratory to a specimen upon receipt, used as the primary tracking number throughout laboratory processing from accessioning through result reporting. The accession number links all tests ordered on a single specimen, tracks specimen location, and serves as the primary reference for specimen retrieval and add-on testing. In laboratory data warehouses, accession number is the natural key for laboratory encounter-level analytics.

A point-of-care measurement of the time in seconds for anticoagulated blood to clot, used to monitor high-dose heparin anticoagulation during cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology procedures, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. ACT is preferred over PTT for high-dose heparin monitoring because PTT is unreliable at heparin concentrations used during cardiopulmonary bypass, with target ranges typically 400-480 seconds.

A laboratory measurement of alanine aminotransferase enzyme activity in blood, expressed in U/L, used as a sensitive marker of hepatocellular injury and liver function. ALT is more liver-specific than AST and is elevated in hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and drug-induced liver injury. ALT is included in Comprehensive Metabolic Panels and is used in HEDIS Annual Monitoring for Patients on Persistent Medications measures for hepatotoxic drugs.

A laboratory measurement of albumin protein concentration in blood serum, expressed in g/dL, used to assess nutritional status, hepatic synthetic function, and as a negative acute phase reactant that decreases in inflammatory states. Albumin is included in Comprehensive Metabolic Panels and Hepatic Function Panels, with low albumin below 3.5 g/dL indicating malnutrition, liver disease, nephrotic syndrome, or chronic inflammatory disease.

A laboratory measurement of alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity in blood, expressed in U/L, used to detect liver disease, bone disorders, and biliary obstruction. ALP is elevated in cholestatic liver disease, Paget disease of bone, hyperparathyroidism, and metastatic bone disease. ALP is included in Comprehensive Metabolic Panels and Hepatic Function Panels, requiring interpretation alongside GGT and other liver function tests to distinguish hepatic from bone sources.

A laboratory measurement of ammonia concentration in blood plasma, expressed in umol/L, used to assess hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver disease and diagnose urea cycle disorders. Elevated ammonia in cirrhosis patients with altered mental status supports hepatic encephalopathy diagnosis and guides lactulose and rifaximin therapy. Proper specimen handling with immediate chilling is critical as ammonia is highly labile and increases rapidly at room temperature.

The result of antimicrobial susceptibility testing for a specific antibiotic against a cultured microorganism, reported as susceptible, intermediate, resistant, or susceptible dose-dependent according to CLSI or EUCAST breakpoint criteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility results drive targeted antibiotic therapy selection, populate institutional antibiogram data for empiric therapy guideline development, and contribute to antimicrobial stewardship program analytics.

A laboratory measurement of aspartate aminotransferase enzyme activity in blood, expressed in U/L, used as a marker of hepatocellular injury and muscle damage. AST is less liver-specific than ALT and can be elevated in cardiac muscle injury, skeletal muscle damage, and hemolysis. The AST-to-ALT ratio above 2 suggests alcoholic liver disease, while ratios below 1 are typical of viral hepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.