Getting a read on your medical tests

For better or worse, we have a wealth of information at our fingertips. When it comes to health, it can be overwhelming, especially when our medical records are saved electronically.

A local expert is hoping to give us a better read on our health.

Who among us hasn’t visited Dr. Google to explore our health concerns? Medical terms and symptoms are frequently trending topics.

Meaghan Sanchez says she gets a checkup online almost every day.

“Probably just Google, and then wherever it takes me. Mayo Clinic is usually one I check out,” she said.

There’s nothing wrong with being a good health consumer. Even doctors agree people are their own best advocates. It also means people can get trapped in a maze of information.

As part of healthcare reform, our medical records are as close as our fingertips in the form of electronic records that we are given access to. A big part of what we see is lab results.

“Most health systems do have an online portal where you can sign in, and you see all these numbers and test acronyms, and they have asterixis, they’re red, there have an h behind it on l, so you are in a whole different world that you don’t know what this means,” said Sabine Mueller, laboratory consultant in Fort Myers.

Mueller has owned and operated her own diagnostic labs. She said about 80% of our medical chart is made up of lab tests. Without a baseline of understanding, it leads to self-diagnosis and misdiagnosis.

“If you start looking test results up or you going elevated glucose, oh my God, I’m a diabetic, or maybe I have cancer,” Mueller said.

So, she’s written a user-friendly guide for lab results.

Her book covers about 85% of the most common tests, from blood counts to cancer markers, giving context to consumers who want to take a deep dive into their health.

“So they actually have a better, more knowledgeable conversation with their physician about their health,” Mueller said.

Upping knowledge and lowering fear.

There are thousands of different lab tests at a doctor’s disposal, and about thirteen billion tests are performed in the U.S. each year.

That’s a lot of information to digest.