[LabUpdates] Laboratory Formulary Committee Updates - Free Drug Concentration Testing ALERT

[Matthew Elkins]

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Medicine and laboratory testing are constantly changing. In an attempt to keep us all on the same page, the Laboratory Formulary Committee will be regularly sending out emails with recent updates and guidances. Below are the short versions of relevant changes.

Free Drug Concentration Testing: Clinical Pathology at Upstate was recently notified by our reference laboratory, LabCorp, that due to the on-going supply chain issues there is currently a nation-wide shortage of a device that is used to prepare protein-free filtrates of serum samples so that unbound (free) drug concentrations can be measured.

LabCorp has worked with other referral laboratories to determine availability of the device, as has our referral/send-out area at Upstate, and found that laboratories nation-wide are struggling with this shortage. Due to the specimen stability of this test and not having an end-date to the shortage, LabCorp is unable to provide testing on Free (unbound) Drug Concentrations for the foreseeable future.

The tests that are affected by this shortage are:
Phenytoin, Free, serum-EPIC code: LAB32
Valproic Acid, Free, Serum-EPIC code: LAB24

Providers that place an order in EPIC for one of these affected tests will be credited and resulted with a comment of: "Testing is unable to be performed by the reference lab due to a nationwide shortage of a supply material needed to perform testing" until this shortage is resolved.

For prior guidances, please visit https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://upstate0.sharepoint.com/sites/LaboratoryFormularyCommitteeLabchanges__;!!GobTDDpD7A!b_EDkS2GI1M-hBQKckBRG6RyhTcYz129wawC5aOLBZsvlbklfotYsa86dIj3BgNsHZQ15TgU$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/upstate0.sharepoint.com/sites/LaboratoryFormularyCommitteeLabchanges__;!!GobTDDpD7A!fMqwKEI3JlieL_eF-Vo4vMVj2PNzfXcL0GsxYMLCbL6cXpbRqzmyQKWIxbV1BBgJ8OlmOsFv$>
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