Who designs these blood tests

Why Análisis Médicos exists

In my practice I see blood tests with twenty parameters where four were needed, and others with four that were missing exactly the one that could change everything. The problem is not asking for a lot or a little. It is not having thought first about which question the test has to answer.

Cortisol sums it up well. When we want to know whether someone produces too much cortisol, a basal cortisol does not answer that question. Other tests are needed, such as a suppression test, late-night salivary cortisol or 24-hour urine free cortisol. The question was a good one. The test chosen was not.

Análisis Médicos comes from that observation: turning the prior work of deciding what to request for each question into blood test profiles that can be ordered directly.

How each protocol is designed

Each protocol starts from a question. A test is included if it can change the interpretation or the next step. If it only adds another number to the report without helping to make a decision, it is left out.

That is why the value of a profile is not in running many tests, but in choosing the ones that add something.

Sometimes very popular parameters are left out. When that happens, the profile page explains why. And if a test only makes sense in specific situations, it says so too.

What a protocol can answer

The protocols in the catalogue answer general questions: how the thyroid is doing, whether iron or another nutrient may be low, or how glucose and cholesterol are.

They do it in a standardised way: everyone who orders the same profile receives the same tests. This answers a general question, but it does not replace a consultation. In a consultation, the doctor knows your situation and decides which parameters to test in your particular case.

So if you have persistent or worsening symptoms, a serious condition that has already been diagnosed, are pregnant, or need a complex assessment, the right thing is to be assessed by a doctor.

Who interprets the results?

The laboratory sends you the results directly, with the reference ranges next to them. Although those ranges are a guide, they are not a medical interpretation.

A result outside the range may not be relevant, and one within the range may be, depending on age, symptoms or treatment.

If a doctor asked you to have the test, review it with them. If you had it done on your own, the right thing is to show it to a doctor you trust: your usual one, the specialist who follows you, or whoever you prefer.

Protocols that are reviewed

Medicine changes and so does the laboratory: new tests appear, others are withdrawn and some are no longer recommended.

That is why the protocols are reviewed and updated. Each profile page shows the date of its last review.