Laboratory medicine plays an important role in the delivery of health care services, influencing an estimated 70% of medical decisions. Laboratory medicine is the core of clinical practice:
- Patients depend on laboratory results
- Clinicians use laboratory findings to guide decision making
- Organizations use laboratory results to assess the quality and assure quality patient care
The Laboratory Services Program provides variety of laboratory testing and services to the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County clinics concerned with sexually transmitted infections (STI), HIV-PrEP, tuberculosis, refugee health assessment, women’s health, family planning, and civil surgeon. Our licensed and supporting staff perform rapid HIV and HCV testing, in-house screening tests for syphilis, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, bacterial vaginosis, tests for pregnancy, urinalysis, blood glucose and hemoglobin level.
We collect, prepare, and send-out specimens for further testing at the Bureau of Public Health Laboratories and Quest/LabCorp, such as sputum for TB diagnostics; blood, serum or plasma for HIV confirmation, genotyping and drug resistance, hepatitis and metabolic panels, therapeutic drug absorbance levels, prenatal panels, iron and lead for infants and children health status; urine for molecular detection of microorganisms, such as gonorrheal, chlamydia or zika;Â Â stool for parasitic and enteric infections, etc.
As a part of our laboratory practice we use many methods to assure high quality laboratory services. Our laboratory personnel are highly trained and licensed. We participate in proficiency testing programs. Our laboratories are subjects to CLIA/AHCA inspections to assure compliance with rules and regulations of laboratory practices.
We know that patients, clinicians rely on laboratory results, information from lab tests help paint a picture, inform decisions and are constantly working on the improvement of overall quality of our services.