Dan Cullison, M (ASCP), supervisor of Microbiology and Molecular Testing at The Medical Center’s Lab, and Chris Curlee, MT (ASCP), medical technologist, with the Ampli Prep/Taqman 48 that extracts and purifies DNA for a new level of testing.
For most people in Columbus, Georgia area, April 15 was significant because of the deadline to file their income taxes. But for the Department of Pathology at The Medical Center, it was a monumental day!
After a year and a half of planning, researching, training and testing, the first patient test was completed in our new section of the laboratory, officially known as the Molecular Diagnostic Lab.
The new lab is the first kind in our part of the state that uses Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, a relatively new science that looks for the unique DNA or RNA of a pathogen, rather than identifying the pathogen through more conventional culture methods.
Only Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta can offer the precise genetic testing that the new lab will bring to the Columbus region.
Advantages for Patients and Regional Medical Community
The advantages of this progressive technology to evaluate diseases, disorders and abnormalities are numerous:
- Decrease in turnaround time: Currently, all PCR testing requests are sent to a lab in North Carolina, with results returned in 7–10 days. By having such tests done in real-time in Columbus, our physicians will get results back much quicker.
- Sensitivity and specificity: PCR testing is preferred over conventional culture methods due to its high degree of accuracy, which approaches 99–100 percent.
- Potential to expand testing: PCR testing at The Medical Center is currently used for detecting hepatitis C disease and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Guided by physicians’ needs and potential for growth, additional tests will be offered in the future.
- Cost savings: The Medical Center saves money by not having to pay for testing at another location.
Ultimately, the decreased turnaround time for results translates to a decrease in length of stay for our patients and the physician’s ability to begin treatment sooner.
And because of its accuracy, the new lab will supplement and in some cases supplant some of our current testing. This creates great potential for us to become a regional referral lab for other hospitals!