Announces Proficiency Results Asheville, N.C., August 27, 2000. Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory proudly announces that its Elemental Analysis Laboratory has achieved outstanding results on recent proficiency examinations related to testing elements in hair, blood, and urine. These assessments are used in the evaluation of toxic load and nutritional deficiency, which pose a persistent threat to human health, especially among children. Elemental Analysis of urine is also used in the monitoring of detoxification therapies. In the latest round of proficiencies, Great Smokies received perfect scores on its assessment of lead in red blood cells from state health departments in New York and Pennsylvania, as well as from the College of American Pathologists.
Scores are a measure of the quality of laboratory testing provided by participating labs.
Great Smokies also participates in a voluntary proficiency testing program administered by the Canadian province of Quebec, which monitors the quality of testing for red blood cells and urine samples, as well as hair and other tissues. Commenting on the lab's excellent performance on recent proficiencies, Laboratory Director Jian Ho, M.D., Ph.D., D.A.B.C.C., emphasized the value of quality Elemental Analysis for healthcare providers. We are constantly discovering new sources, often in imported cosmetics and other products. Because the most hazardous metals do not biodegrade, once released into the environment, they retain the potential to damage the nervous and immune system, as well as stimulate certain types of cancer. Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory provides advanced, innovative assessments of gastrointestinal, endocrine, immune, nutritional, and metabolic function to healthcare providers worldwide.