3/15/07

Physicians Laboratories offers Manning docs fast and valuable service
By Eric Goold

ERIC GOOLD/Manning Times
Pam Jeffords (right) goes over test results with lab technician Darlene Raysor last week at the Physicians Laboratory. The lab opened at the end of January and offers Manning doctors the chance to get test results quickly and efficiently.

Doctors in Manning no longer have to go very far or wait very long in order to get test results for their patients.

Physicians Laboratories, located at 110 Breedin Street, opened earlier this year. Its staff of six technicians and employees conducts tests and is able to get results back to doctors within a day.

“We opened in late January, around the 26th,” said laboratory administrator Pam Jeffords. “We provide immediate testing for the doctors in the area.”

Patients who go to their doctors tend to need results from tests quickly. The best part of Physicians Labora-tories is that tests do not need to be conducted outside of town and results can be determined quickly and accurately, usually within a day.

“We give doctors the availability to get results quickly, which really helps with patient care,” said Jeffords. “Getting the results quicker helps the patient determine their problem sooner, and then they can get medication adjustments that same day.”

Several doctors in Manning utilize the Physicians Laboratories.

“It’s right here in town,” said Dr. William Aldrich of Cypress Family Medicine. “We get same day turnaround, which is very important. It’s run by physicians, so we have input into what we need to have done and the way it needs to be done.”

Previously, doctors in Manning had a hard time getting same-day test results, prompting some of them to form the Physicians Laboratories.

“A lot of them were going to a reference laboratory. They were not getting same-day results or next-day results, so this facility was created,” said Jeffords. “It really improved the quality of patient care.”

The kind of testing that goes on at Physicians Laboratories is varied and depends upon the needs of the various patients involved.

“We do basic lab tests,” said Aldrich. “The kind of everyday lab tests that patients need, like electrolytes and lipids. For any specialized or unusual testing we need, we have a reference lab that we can send any special lab work to.”

Regardless of the type of testing required, the services at Physicians Laboratories are set at a high standard.
“We can handle any type of lab work, no matter how unusual, with a quick turnaround,” said Aldrich.

It has only been a few months since the facility has been in operation, but things are going smoothly and Physicians Laboratories is up and running, providing Manning doctors with a vital service.

“Everyday gets a little easier since we’ve become established,” said Jeffords. “We’ve got a good work routine now and everything has fallen into place.”