When blood work is ordered STAT, the results for common tests generally take 30 minutes to two hours from the time the physician orders the test until the result is available. This timeline depends on a complex chain of events involving several distinct, time-sensitive steps. The entire process is designed as a high-speed workflow that bypasses routine procedures to deliver time-sensitive information to the care team.
What STAT Testing Means
The term STAT is derived from the Latin word statim, meaning “immediately” or “at once.” In a clinical setting, this designation is reserved for suspected medical emergencies or life-threatening conditions where diagnosis and management hinge on rapid results. STAT orders receive the absolute highest priority by the laboratory, ensuring the sample is processed ahead of all other queued tests.
Routine blood work is typically batched and processed within 24 to 72 hours, while urgent tests are expedited. A STAT test triggers an immediate workflow, effectively bypassing the queue for standard samples. This prioritization is essential for tests like troponin for chest pain or an electrolyte panel for a critically ill patient, where every minute saved can influence treatment decisions. Overusing the STAT designation can negatively affect the care of truly critical patients by creating unnecessary backlogs.
The Sequential Timeline of STAT Blood Work
The clock for STAT blood work starts the moment the test is ordered and proceeds through four distinct phases.
Collection (Phlebotomy)
This initial phase takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes. It involves verifying the order, locating the patient, performing the venipuncture, and labeling the specimen tube with the appropriate time stamp. Phlebotomists prioritize these draws to ensure minimal delay in obtaining the sample.
Transport/Delivery
This phase is highly dependent on the facility’s infrastructure. In large hospitals, samples are often moved via a pneumatic tube system that can deliver the specimen to the centralized lab in 5 to 10 minutes. If a courier or manual transport is required, the time for this step can extend toward the 15-minute mark. This pre-analytical phase accounts for a large portion of the total turnaround time.
Processing and Analysis
This phase must adhere to a target of under 60 minutes from lab receipt for most STAT tests. This time includes initial preparation, such as centrifugation to separate plasma or serum from cells, which can take 5 to 10 minutes. Basic chemistry panels or complete blood counts (CBCs) are run on sophisticated machines that can often complete the analysis in 10 to 20 minutes.
Verification and Reporting
This phase involves a laboratory technologist reviewing the raw data for quality control and accuracy. This review, often aided by autoverification software, typically takes 5 to 10 minutes before the result is released into the patient’s electronic medical record. If the result is a critical value—a result outside a life-threatening range—the technologist must immediately call the result directly to the ordering physician.
Variables That Affect the Final Time
The actual time to receive a STAT result is vulnerable to external factors that introduce variability and delay.
Test Complexity
More specialized tests require a longer run time on the analyzer, even with maximum prioritization. While a simple electrolyte panel may be completed quickly, tests for certain drug levels or complex coagulation studies may require dedicated instruments and longer processing protocols, extending the time closer to 90 minutes or two hours from lab receipt.
Location of the Draw
The speed of transport is not uniform across all settings. A sample collected in a remote clinic or a small, satellite hospital without an on-site laboratory must be transported by courier over a greater distance. This makes the 5 to 15-minute transport goal unrealistic and directly adds to the overall turnaround time experienced by the care team.
Equipment and Staffing
Unforeseen issues with equipment and staffing can severely impact the timeline. An unexpected instrument breakdown can halt processing until a backup machine is available. Furthermore, a sudden spike in STAT volume can temporarily overwhelm the available equipment and technical staff, lengthening the time for all tests.
Sample Issues
Sample issues are a common cause of delay that requires the entire process to restart. If the collected specimen is clotted, hemolyzed (red blood cells are ruptured), or insufficient in volume, the lab cannot accurately run the test. This necessitates a redraw, forcing the phlebotomist to return to the patient and repeating the collection phase, immediately adding another 10 to 20 minutes to the total time.