03/12/2026
๐ง ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฌโฆ
One of the things that is valuable in Direct Primary Care is having the time to truly look at lab results instead of just scanning for the red โflaggedโ numbers.
The photo in this post is actually a section of Dr. Lauren's personal labs. Sharing it with permission because it shows what can go on behind the scenes when reviewing results.
At first glance, there was only one value slightly outside the normal range. In many larger systems, that might simply be noted and rechecked at the next annual visit.
But something about the pattern didnโt look quite right.
So Dr. Lauren sat down and worked through it, by calculating the anion gap and walking through the possibilities step by step. What she found was a high anion gap metabolic acidosis, which prompted her to think through possible causes.
In this case, the most likely explanation is something simple and temporaryโdehydration, low blood pressure at the time of the draw, or not having eaten in the last 12 hours. The next step is straightforward: repeat the labs soon while controlling those variables and see if the numbers normalize.
๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ: ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ง๐.
Having the ability to pause, think, calculate, and work through the โwhyโ behind lab values can sometimes reveal patterns that might otherwise be overlooked if we only focus on whether something is flagged as abnormal.
That extra time and attention is one of the things that makes Direct Primary Care different.
๐๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ณ. ๐๐ข๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
