Celebrating National Lab Week

If you or your loved one has ever had a blood test, you owe its accuracy and timeliness to a Medical Laboratory Professional.

Approximately 300,000 such individuals work around the clock as part of healthcare teams to help diagnose diseases and manage treatments.

The dedicated efforts of laboratory professionals often go unnoticed by the general public, as well as by the very institutions employing their services.

Every year, the National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week — April 19-25 — helps promote public understanding of, and appreciation for, laboratory personnel.

These individuals work in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, physicians’ offices, reference labs, and industrial labs.

They safely collect your blood or other samples and perform a full range of laboratory tests. These range from routine blood tests to complex ones that uncover diseases such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and cancer.

They are also responsible for confirming the accuracy of test results (quality control) and reporting laboratory findings to physicians in a timely manner. The information that a Medical Laboratory Professional gives to the doctor influences over 70 percent of the medical treatment decisions.

I am fortunate to work with some of the best lab professionals in Maryville, St. Joseph, and the Kansas City area. Their untiring dedication to quality and safety is an inspiration.

I salute all these wonderful professionals as they we all celebrate the Medical Laboratory Professionals Week in their honor.

Chakshu Gupta, MD, MBA

Pathologist and Medical Director

MAWD Pathology Group