Laboratory Services You Can Get at Urgent Care

Urgent care centers offer lab testing for many common infections and illnesses. These centers can save you time because some lab tests are usually conducted on-site and the results are made available as fast as possible. This helps lead to a quicker diagnosis and treatment plan. Depending on the test, some test results will be ready on the same day, while other results may not be available for a couple of weeks.

Urgent care laboratory services

Lab work and blood tests are ordered by health care providers for a wide variety of reasons, such as confirming a diagnosis, monitoring conditions, and screening for diseases. They also help to diagnose or rule out an illness. Urgent care facilities offer a wide range of laboratory services that help diagnose and treat patients. Some of the common laboratory services a patient can get at an urgent care center include pregnancy tests and STD tests.

Pregnancy tests

Pregnancy tests can help determine pregnancy, diagnose abnormal health conditions or problems or monitor the development of a baby. A pregnancy test determines whether a woman is pregnant by measuring levels of a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). The body produces this hormone throughout pregnancy. It can be present in the urine and blood as early as 10 days after conception.

Pregnancy tests involve testing either blood or urine. Urine testing can be done at home, but a blood test must be performed by a health care provider. The two types of pregnancy blood tests are a quantitative blood test and a qualitative blood test. A quantitative blood test helps measure the exact amount of HCG in the blood to determine if the progression of the pregnancy is healthy, while a qualitative blood test detects whether HCG is present in the blood or not. During a blood pregnancy test, a doctor will use a syringe to draw blood into a vial. The results from blood tests normally come back within a couple of days.

STD tests

A person may need an STD test to rule out infection, diagnose symptoms so treatment can start early, prevent complications, or prevent a disease from spreading. An STD test screens for sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and gonorrhea. If left untreated, many of these diseases can cause serious health complications. They can also lead to the development of other diseases and illnesses.

An STD test can help determine whether a person has an STD so that a patient can receive treatment early. This helps reduce the risk of other medical conditions. STD testing methods often vary depending on the infection. Swab tests, blood tests, and urine tests are common ways health care providers screen for sexually transmitted diseases.

Urinalysis

This laboratory test analyzes all the elements of one’s urine. The patient will urinate in a small cup in the clinic’s private bathroom. This sample will provide important information about the person’s organ systems. The lab will note the composition, appearance, and particles in the urine.

A healthy person’s urine should be pale yellow and clear. Foamy and turbid urine is not normal. So is urine with blood and a strange odor. A dipstick will determine the urine’s pH level. The lab will also check for leukocytes, proteins, blood, sugar, and ketones in the urine sample. A microscope will help spot the different particulates in the urine, such as crystals and bacteria.

CBC (complete blood count)

This service will need a sample of blood from the patient’s arm. A good sample can help examine the different components in the patient’s blood. This is an important test, especially during the current pandemic. Any bacterial or viral infection will show itself. The doctor will note all the signs of sickness and infection. A tailored treatment plan can then help the patient get better.

Doctors will order a white blood cell count if the patient comes in sick. The doctor will collect the signs and symptoms. This will help determine if the illness happened because of bacteria, viruses, allergies, or medications. The doctor will then formulate a tailored treatment plan.

Advantages of urgent care

An increasing number of people are choosing to have lab testing done at urgent care facilities. Urgent care is convenient because the facilities are easily accessible and open after normal business hours. The staff at these facilities is also well-trained and equipped to give you good advice and ensure you get quality services. You can count on an urgent care office for most of your medical testing needs.

Call us today at (832) 941-1894 for more information from Texas Urgent Care & Imaging Center.

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