Critical Lab Values, Department of Medicine in the Medical School at the University of Minnesota

Purpose: To ensure prompt notification to the provider and the patient of test results that are deemed critical, even if they occur from routine testing. 

1. Critical Lab Values are determined by the lab testing facility.  Fairview Lab critical values can be found on the Intranet (https://intranet.fairview.org/) under Laboratory Services, Test Information/Guidelines, Critical Values.
2. The acceptable length of time between identification of the critical value and reporting of the critical value to the responsible caregiver is 30 minutes.
3. The results will be communicated verbally to the ordering physician or appropriate designee.
4. During clinic hours the lab will call the clinic to talk with the appropriate designee in the clinic.  After hours they will attempt to contact the ordering provider.  If the ordering provider is unable to be reached, the lab will contact the operator to determine who is on-call for the Primary Care Center.
5. If necessary, the lab will access the patient record in Allscripts and read back the last patient note and provide patient contact information.
6. All critical labs need to be dealt with immediately.
7. All patient communication, or attempts at patient communication, should be documented as soon as possible in Allscripts.