– No repeat tests within nine months Repeat ANA/ENA requests: we will no longer do an ANA and/or ENA if one has already been done in the previous nine months Background: Antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing is useful in the diagnosis of systemic connective tissue diseases. A negative ANA test or a positive ANA with a […]
As we approach the upcoming school holiday period, we would like to inform you of some adjustments to our collection services across Auckland from 28 September – 13 October. We anticipate reduced patient demand, and therefore have chosen a small number of collection centres that will not operate during this time. This will affect the […]
Awanui Labs has recently made an operational change to how we handle duplicate test requests and what this change may mean for you. Awanui Labs experiences a high degree of multiple requests for the same patients, a significant number of these requests are from different doctors within the same clinic. Currently when the patient presents […]
Awanui labs Auckland is improving the quality of patient results by implementing a pre–analytical diagnostic stewardship initiative for community-acquired urinary tract infections. This involves the requirement for an appropriate symptom-based clinical indication for urine culture requests. From 26 August 2024, urine culture requests with either no clinical details or inappropriate/irrelevant clinical details on the request […]
We are pleased to announce the opening of our new collection centre in Highbury on Tuesday 23 July. The Northcote collection centre has relocated to Highbury Shopping Centre, Shop 15, 1 c/o Highbury Pass and Birkenhead Avenue. Operating hours are from Monday to Friday, 07:00-16:00 hrs and Saturdays 8:00 to 12:00 hrs. We have appreciated […]
You will recall in February we made changes to the requesting of vitamin B12 and folate. See article in The Scope for information. In Summary: We initiated the following changes: We are now implementing phase two of the strategy. We know that some Patient Management Systems (PMS) are still set up to order the combined B12/folate […]
The burden of infections with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) continues to increase globally and locally (1,2). A MDRO is defined as an organism that is resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics. Infections with these organisms can be challenging to manage as therapeutic antimicrobial options are limited. Therefore, various preventive measures are undertaken to […]
Diagnostic stewardship is defined as the process of modifying the requesting, performing, or reporting of diagnostic tests in order to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient management1. It involves requesting the right test, for the right indication, at the right time with the right interpretation of results. Diagnostic stewardship of infections promotes the appropriate use of […]
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Coeliac disease is an immunological intestinal reaction to gluten in cereal causing the cells lining the small, intestine bowel to become damaged and inflamed. This is often found in people who are genetically predisposed to this condition. Coeliac disease in New ZealandAccording to international research, approximately 100,000 people across New Zealand have some form of coeliac […]