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Critical
values may imply a life-threatening situation for the patient and are brought
to the immediate attention of the physician and/or the patient care area
responsible for the patient. (See Critical Values Notification Procedure in the
Results section)
The critical
values currently in use at Rush Medical Laboratories are listed below. The
current critical values were established by consensus of attending physicians
and/or medical directors of the hospital's critical and emergency care units,
approved by the Director of Rush Medical Laboratories, and are reviewed and changed
as directed by these physicians. Please address concerns regarding critical
value policies to the appropriate member of the Rush Medical Laboratories
professional staff as listed in the staff directory. All concerns will be promptly addressed.
Each test on
the attached list has an upper and/or lower critical value. It is possible to
set additional critical values according to age group or sex, but not according
to patient location or staff responsible for patient care. Once critical values
for a test is established, laboratory staff are required to follow protocol for notification when critical results
are obtained.
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