Before you ring the desk
Common questions
Everything people actually ask us, answered at the length the answer deserves. If yours is not here, the number is at the foot of every page.
Book a testBefore you come
Booking, fasting and what to bring
Do I need an appointment?
No. Every branch takes walk-ins during opening hours and most people are in and out inside twenty minutes. Booking ahead only matters for a home collection or if you want a specific phlebotomist.
How long do I have to fast?
Eight to twelve hours for glucose and lipids. Water is fine and encouraged — a dehydrated patient is a harder draw. Tea with sugar is not fine, and it is the single most common reason we repeat a glucose.
Do I need a doctor's request form?
For most tests, no — you can ask for them yourself. A few, mostly the molecular panels and anything involving a controlled diagnosis, need a request from a registered practitioner, and the desk will tell you which before you pay.
What should I bring?
Any request form, your insurance card and folder number if you are using cover, and a list of medicines you are taking. Several common drugs move common results and it saves an unnecessary repeat.
Your results
Timing, delivery and what the numbers mean
When will my results be ready?
Most same-day tests are reported by 7:00pm if the sample reaches Spintex before 3:00pm. Cultures take 48 to 72 hours because something has to grow, and PCR work is 24 to 48. We will give you a time, not a range, when you book.
How do I get them?
By email as a signed PDF, collected in person at any branch, or sent directly to your doctor if you ask us to. We do not send results over WhatsApp, and anybody who says they are calling from here and asks for a payment is not.
What happens if something is abnormal?
It goes back on the bench and is run a second time before the report leaves. If it is confirmed and clinically significant, one of our scientists rings you before the report is released — that has been the rule since 2004.
Will somebody explain the result to me?
Yes. Ring the number on the report and ask for the bench that ran it. We will explain what the figure means and what the range is; we will not diagnose you or tell you what to take, because that is your doctor's job and we are not in the room with you.
Book a test this week
Walk in at Spintex or any of our nineteen collection points, or ask for a home draw and we will come to you. Most results are with you the same evening.
