Drug Testing in the Era of Medical Marijuana Before the mid-1990s, marijuana was illegal across the United States for any purpose, medicinal or recreational. However, the current landscape is quite different. Today, 33 states, four inhabited U.S. territories, and Washington DC allow marijuana for medical use with the permission of a [...]
Understanding Your Blood Test Results Blood panels are a common part of physical exams, but to the layperson, they’re almost meaningless in their complexity. With every metric – red blood cell count, cholesterol, iron levels, and so many more – measured completely differently and independently from one another, it’s not easy [...]
Are At Home UTI Tests Accurate? And More Questions About Testing It’s normal to feel embarrassed about the prospect of confronting potential urinary issues (like urinary tract infections, or “UTIs”) with someone else. After all, the anatomy affected is private and there’s a stigma that goes along with these types of [...]
The Lingering COVID Pandemic The global pandemic has made a lot of us more conscious of our health, and for many, having regular Covid-19 testing performed may be a requirement as we travel or work in our respective fields. With Meridian Diagnostics and many labs in the country still processing COVID tests [...]
Liquid Chromatography - The Important Tech of Drug Detection The prevalence of drug testing in many different capacities, from pre-employment screenings to testing within a treatment facility to prevent against relapse, is well known, even by those outside of the industry. Many individuals have been the subject of drug testing themselves, whether as [...]
What’s Behind The Rise In Designer Drug Use? Designer drugs are on the rise. These drugs, also known as synthetic drugs, research chemicals, or research drugs, pose a significant risk to those that use them because they are designed and manufactured to act like illicit drugs. What makes them a higher risk [...]
Influenzas Effect on Nursing Homes & Long-Term Care Facility Residents The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted one of the greatest concerns for nursing homes and residents of other long-term care facilities: the serious consequences of highly contagious illnesses in shared living communities. Influenza and other respiratory diseases have lasting effects on elderly people, [...]
Monkeypox Testing and Common Questions The monkeypox outbreak, which started in June in the U.S., is eerily similar to the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus with regard to testing availability. Labs, like Meridian Diagnostics, are prepared for the influx of testing, and federal officials at first faced this new disease with [...]
The Significance of Clinical Laboratories in Healthcare Basic healthcare starts with the physician's diagnosis of the patient's presenting symptoms and their own experience with certain illnesses and diseases. Giving the right care and treatment often relies on an accurate diagnosis. However, many different types of diseases present with similar symptoms, and [...]
High Potassium Levels in a Blood Test Image from Abbott ci4100 Tour Footage Potassium blood tests measure the amount of potassium in your blood. Potassium is an electrolyte, an electrically charged mineral in your body. Electrolytes are responsible for aiding muscle control and nerve activity, maintaining fluid levels, and performing [...]
