The human body is a fully functional machine that monitors every activity, and when there is a disorder, it gives us a signal. The excretory process analyzes these signals, where urine and stool play a major part. Doctors insist on urine and stool tests to better diagnose a health condition. Urinalysis is the way by which doctors check for such internal issues. As a result, it is important to know about urine analysers. Urinalysis cost 2023 depends upon the hospital/centre. Choosing a hospital that offers a transparent price for analysis is wise. So how does that transparency come?
As you know, the CMS makes it mandatory for all hospitals to display the shoppable cost of at least 300 services. Urinalysis, one of the shoppable services, must be posted on the website.
ZeaMed believes that consumers must be able to check for urinalysis costs easily in 2023. ZeaMed is making it possible and enabling Americans to find and compare actual healthcare costs. We will let you know how. If you are looking for the cost of urinalysis in 2023, keep reading below.
What is a urine test?
A urine test detects a wide range of disorders in your body, such as urinary tract infections, kidney diseases, diabetes, pregnancy etc. It involves the process of urine collection, either the first-morning urine as in pregnancy or of any time of the day to diagnose certain health conditions.
What is a urine analyser?
A urine test uses urine analyser to perform certain tests. These analysers detect and quantify certain elements such as bilirubin, protein, glucose, RBC etc. Modern urine analysers also come with strip testing devices, a reflective photometer that can process hundreds of strips per hour.
Are urine analysers more efficient than microscopic sedimentation tests?
Urine analyses are tests that are commonly performed in a clinical laboratory. The manual microscopic examination is extremely labor-intensive and time taking. There has been a great shift to automated urine analysers for time-saving, making the results more effective and hassle-free.
How is a comparison made in urinalysis?
Initially, 209 urine samples were analyzed by automated urine analysers and by manual examination. Here are a few automated urine analysers-
• A device named Iris iQ200 ELITE, designed by Iris Diagnostic, USA
• Dirui FUS-200, DIRUI Industrial Co., China
• Microscopic urine sediment analyser used in laboratories.
Results: The results are mostly similar. For erythrocytes, bacteria, leukocytes, crystals and yeasts, the degree of concordance between the two automated instruments was better than manual microscopic examinations.
Procedure for comparison: Tests were performed on 209 patients and were done so according to European Urinalysis Guidelines. 30mL mid-stream samples were collected, and three methods examined 10mL samples.
Each sample was examined within an hour. The first tube was centrifuged for 5 minutes at 1500 rpm for manual examination. The supernatant was decanted until 0.5mL of urine remained at the bottom. The sediment was resuspended and placed on a slide.
The following are some basic observations from the three tests.
| Erythrocytes | Epithelial cells | Leucocytes | ||
| FUS vs. Manual | 86.1 | 82.7 | 74.1 | Correct |
| Iris vs. Manual | 92.3 | 79.9 | 77.9 | Correct |
| FUS vs. Iris | 90.4 | 86.1 | 81.8 | Correct |
The comparison of concordance also becomes important.
- The concordance between the clinical, biochemical examinations and automated tests was moderate for epithelial cells. It has been proved that the tests done with the Automated Urine Analysers were much better.
- While comparing the bacteria and crystals, the concordance was again moderate between the urine analysers and biochemical examinations. The count of casts showed no concordance between the three methods.
- The analytical sensitivity, specificity and positive/negative predictive value were assessed relative to manual tests, which biochemists and other doctors did. However, the Automated Urine Analysers’ specificity was much better than the physical examinations.
What is the accuracy of these Automated Urine Analysers?
Observations reveal that Automated Urine analysers are far more efficient and cost-effective than physical/ biochemical examinations. The Iris iQ200 and FUS-200 have been used worldwide in medical laboratories for examinations, and the results have been good and satisfactory; for erythrocytes, leucocytes, epithelial cells, bacteria and crystals, the concordance between the manual and instrumental methods ranged from moderate to good.
Automated urine sediments or semi-automated analysers are indispensable equipment for modern medicine. Because it is hassle-free, time-saving and 100% accurate, many clinics in the USA are keen on using these types of analysers. The only feature the analysers need to improvise and standardize more is the ability of the software programmes to respond more accurately and quickly.
The software must be constantly updated and improved to maintain the proper standard and accuracy for the tests.
A urine analysis test may be very costly in 2023, provided you must check thoroughly before booking. Also check whether a particular urine test in 2023 satisfies all the categories and the hidden costs in these tests that are very common.
Seems a tiring process? Well, there is a solution!
ZeaMed can make your work quite easier. Ask us how!
The ZeaMed healthcare marketplace enables people to find and compare actual costs for the healthcare services and procedures. They can look for all the service providers in their locality, compare prices, and choose the lowest option available per their budget.
We also help hospitals to be 100% compliant with the CMS price transparency rules using our AI-powered Price Transparency compliance platform- ZeaTool.
ZeaTool helps you in analyzing all the costs systematically. Suppose you opt for urinalysis in 2023. ZeaTool will scan through all the compliant hospitals and help you to choose the best place for urinalysis in 2023.
Let us aim for price transparency in 2023. Visit ZeaMed.com.
References:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/urinalysis/about/pac-20384907