Prairie Lakes Healthcare System offers the public the opportunity to have laboratory tests performed at the Prairie Lakes Laboratory through the Public Direct Lab Access program.

This service is not meant to take the place of regular medical care. Participants are encouraged to share their test results with their healthcare provider. Test expense can not be filed with insurance or Medicare. PLHS Lab will not forward any results to the participant's physician. The following tests are available through the Prairie Lakes Direct Lab Access program:

New! Target Heart* - $45.00
Now you can take your heart's health into your own hands. Target Heart consists of four tests, CT Calcium Score, Blood Pressure Reading, Lipid Panel and Blood Glucose Test, to help determine if you're at risk for heart disease for $45. Each test is designed to identify potential life-threatening conditions in your heart. No physician's order is needed. You can make your own appointment at your convenience by calling 882-7690. Both Men and Women 40-75 years of age are eligible for Target Heart. Anyone under 40 years of age must have a physician order to participate. *An overnight fast is required for this test. Learn more.

Beta HCG - $15.00
Beta hCG is routinely used to confirm pregnancy. The test is also given to some women who may be at risk of an ectopic pregnancy or to monitor a woman after miscarriage.

Cholesterol - $10.00
Cholesterol testing is recommended as a screening test to be done on all adults at least once every five years. It may be ordered alone or in combination with other tests including HDL, LDL, and triglycerides - often called a lipid profile. The test is used to track how well these measures are succeeding in lowering cholesterol to desired levels and in turn lowering the risk of developing heart disease.

What does the test result mean?
In a routine setting where testing is done to screen for risk, the test results are grouped in three categories of risk:

• Desirable : A cholesterol below 200 mg/dL is considered desirable and reflects a low risk of heart disease.
• Borderline high: A cholesterol of 200 to 240 mg/dL is considered to reflect moderate risk. Your doctor may decide to order a lipid profile to see if your high cholesterol is bad cholesterol (high LDL) or good cholesterol (high HDL). Depending on the results of the lipid profile (and any other risk factors you may have) your doctor will decide what to do.
• High Risk: A cholesterol above 240 mg/dL is considered high risk. Your doctor may order a lipid profile (as well as other tests) to try to determine the cause of your high cholesterol. Once the cause is known, an appropriate treatment will be prescribed.

Glucose* - $10.00
Glucose testing can be used to screen healthy individuals for diabetes, because diabetes is a common disease that begins with few symptoms. Screening is especially important for people at high risk of developing diabetes-those with a family history of diabetes, those who are overweight, and those who are more than 40 years old. Glucose testing is also ordered in patients who complain of symptoms that suggest diabetes, such as excessive thirst, weight loss, and frequent urination. When these symptoms appear, a person may have already had diabetes for several years. Glucose testing is also performed during pregnancy. During this time some women develop a temporary type of diabetes called gestational diabetes. *An overnight fast is required for this test.

Glycated Hemoglobin - $15.00
The test for A1C indicates how well you have controlled your diabetes over the last few months. Even though you may have some very high or very low blood glucose values, A1C will give you a picture of the average amount of glucose in your blood over that time period. The result can help you and your doctor know if the measures you are taking to control your diabetes are successful.

Hemoglobin/Hematocrit - $5.00
This test is used to determine general health status and to screen for a variety of disorders, such as anemia and infection, as well as nutritional status and exposure to toxic substances.

Lipid Panel* - $25.00
As discussed in the cholesterol information, a full lipid panel includes a cholesterol test, HDL level, LDL level, and triglycerides level. *An overnight fast is required for this test.

PSA - $35.00
The PSA blood screen is used as a prostate cancer indicator. Measuring the ratio of free-PSA to total PSA in the patient's blood provides additional information that helps your doctor distinguish prostate cancer from benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and other non-cancer-related causes of high PSA. This ratio may also help predict whether the prostate cancer is an aggressive, fast-growing disease or a slow-growing non-aggressive form of the disease.

When is it ordered?
The American Cancer Society recommends annual PSA and digital rectal exams for all men beginning at age 50. Men who have an increased risk for prostate cancer (such as American men of African descent and men with a family history of the disease) should start getting tested earlier, usually at age 40 or 45.

TSH - $25.00
TSH testing is used to: diagnose a thyroid disorder in a person with symptoms; screen healthy adults for thyroid disorders as recommended by the American Thyroid Association; screen newborns for an underactive thyroid; monitor thyroid replacement therapy in people with hypothyroidism ; and diagnose and monitor female infertility problems.

Urinalysis - $10.00
The test is performed on a fresh urine specimen. It is best if the specimen is collected in the lab to assure proper container and collection protocol. Some of the urine constituents checked are: pH, protein, glucose, bilirubin, and presence of white blood cells or red blood cells. Results should be evaluated by physician or other healthcare practitioner to determine if further testing is needed.

Comp. Metabolic Panel* - $35
The Comprehensive Metabolic Panel is a general wellness panel that screens for many diseases related to the kidneys, liver, bone, nutrition, and GI tract. *An overnight fast is required for this test.

Basic Metabolic Panel* - $25
This Panel is also a general wellness panel that screens for many diseases related to the kidneys and GI tract. *An overnight fast is required for this test.

Free T4 - $15
This test is normally used in conjunction with the TSH test to help differentiate between hyper- and hypohyroidism.

Complete Blood Count (CBC) - $15
This test is also used to determine general health status and to screen for anemias, and viral/bacterial infections.

Walk-ins are welcome during business hours Monday through Friday or by appointment. For more information on the Prairie Lakes Direct Lab Access program, please contact the Prairie Lakes Laboratory Department at 605-882-7750.