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Folate (087-0379)
Test Mnemonic:

FOL SER

Specimen Requirements:
Collection:

Serum separator tube (SST) (Preferred), Plasma separator tube (PST) or red stopped vacutainer tube.

 

 AM collection preferred.  Protect specimen from light.

Minimum Volume:

3 mL of blood

Storage/Transport:

Delivered to Sample Management within 2 hours of collection.  Protect specimen from light.

Specimen Preparation:

Allow specimen to clot completely at room temperature. Centrifuge to separate serum from cells within 2 hours of collection. Transfer serum from collection tube to labeled plastic transport tube.  Protect specimen from light.

Stability:

Refrigerated for ≤ 7 days     or frozen for ≤ 4 weeks.   Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles.   

Causes for Rejection:

Specimen not protected from light, incomplete and/or incorrect sample identification, improper storage/transport, gross hemolysis and turbidity.                            

Reference Range:

By report (reports may vary based on instrumentation, patient age and sex)

Turnaround Time:

Routine:  8 hours; ASAP: 4 hours

Methodology:

Chemiluminescence

Performed:

24 hours a day; 7 days a week

Lab:

Clinical Chemistry

Patient Preparation :

AM collection preferred.

CPT 4 Code:

82746

Note:

 Test can be ordered only once per inpatient admission or once per month for outpatients. Additional requests must have the approval of the laboratory director.

When ordering tests for which Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement will be sought, physicians should only order tests that are medically necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of the patient. Components of the organ or disease panels may be ordered individually. The diagnostic information must substantiate all tests ordered and must be in the form of an ICD-10 code or its verbal equivalent.
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