FAQ
We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions for you. The questions are divided according to topic. Check if there is an answer for your question in the list!
Can I come for laboratory tests without a referral?
You cannot visit a laboratory without a referral. You always need a referral from your healthcare institution.
How do I know if I have a referral?
Your healthcare institution will have information on whether you have a referral for laboratory tests. The referrals may also be visible in the Omakanta or Omahoito services. Feel free to ask during a doctor’s or nurse’s appointment whether you will be ordered blood tests, urine tests, electrocardiograms or other tests.
If you get a laboratory referral, ask your doctor or nurse when you should take the tests and whether you have to book an appointment yourself. Ask them also how to prepare for your tests and how you will be informed of the results.
I have been discharged from OYS and I was recommended further tests. Do I have a referral?
Contact your own local health centre and ask them how to get a referral now that your treatment has moved from the hospital to a health centre. Feel free to ask while you are still in hospital what to do if your treatment is moved to a health centre.
How long is my referral valid for?
The validity of referrals varies. Check with your own healthcare institution how long your referral is valid for.
Can I bring a urine or stool sample for testing without a referral?
Urine and stool samples (or other samples collected at home) cannot be tested without a referral. You can get a referral from your own healthcare institution.
How do I book a doctor’s appointment?
You can find information on booking a doctor’s appointment from your municipality’s webpages or telephone service.
How do I book a laboratory appointment?
You can book an appointment through our electronic reservation system.
Can I visit a laboratory without an appointment?
Booking an appointment is obligatory at most of our sample collection sites, but at some sites it is also possible to come without prior appointment, for instance with a queuing number. Please check beforehand the information for the laboratory sample collection site you plan on visiting.
Do I have to book a laboratory appointment even though I have a referral?
A referral is always obligatory for laboratory tests. In addition booking an appointment is mandatory for most of our sample collection sites. At some sites it is also possible to come without prior appointment, for instance with a queuing number. Please check beforehand the information for the laboratory sample collection site you plan on visiting.
Do I have to book an appointment for an electrocardiogram?
Yes. You must also book an appointment for an electrocardiogram. If intend to have both a blood test and an electrocardiogram, it is sufficient if you book one laboratory appointment. Book the appointment from the service Blood sample/ECG
How do I get an emergency appointment for blood tests?
Your healthcare institution will book an emergency appointment for a laboratory sample. Residents or North Ostrobothnia can request an emergency appointment from the centralised Nordlab telephone reservation (tel. 0206 19 8019 weekdays 07-18)
You will be asked while during the reservation phone call why you need an emergency laboratory sample. There is a limited number of emergency appointments available and they are intended for acute patients.
Can I book an appointment in another municipality?
You can book an appointment for any suitable Nordlab sample collection site within your hospital district. For instance, if your municipality of residence is Oulu, you can book an appointment for a Nordlab sample collection site within North Ostrobothnia (but not one in Kainuu, Länsi-Pohja, Central Ostrobothnia or Lapland).
If you have a referral from OYS, please follow the instructions you have received from OYS.
I have not received a booking key or PIN code.
Your test appointment booking confirmation (booking key and PIN code) are sent to the email address or phone number, which you given while booking your appointment.
If you have not received a booking confirmation, you can check your booking from Nordlab’s centralised telephone booking service (tel. 0206 19 8019 weekdays 07-18)
Why does the telephone booking service not know about my referral?
Only healthcare professionals in charge of your care or tasks related to your care can view your referrals. Due to this privacy policy Nordlab’s telephone booking service does not know about your laboratory tests. You can only book an appointment for sample collection through the laboratory’s telephone booking service.
How can I cancel or change a booked laboratory appointment?
You will have received a booking confirmation to your email or phone, which includes your booking key and PIN code. With this information you will be able to change or cancel your appointment.
Change or Cancel Your Appointment
If you have lost your booking key and PIN-code, you can call Nordlab’s centralised booking service (tel. 020 619 8019 weekdays 07-18)
If an OYS care institution has booked an appointment for you and you want to change or cancel the appointment, please contact the institution which has booked the appointment.
How do I book an appointment for a gynaecological sample?
Gynaecological samples (e.g. pap smears) are not collected at Nordlab sample collection sites. Pap smears are also not analysed at Nordlab. Contact your own healthcare institution, if you have questions regarding pap smear tests and results.
How do I prepare for a laboratory visit?
Depending on what laboratory tests you have been ordered to take, the required preparations may vary.
Preparing for a Blood Test:
Your healthcare institution will give you instructions on how to prepare for your laboratory tests. Some blood samples require a 10 hour fast, but not all do. Additionally many other factors can influence test results: avoid intense physical exertion, smoking, and alcohol for 24 hours before having your sample taken.
Preparing for a Urine Sample:
The most common urine sample is a mid-stream urine sample. For this sample morning urine is the most reliable. If it is not possible for you to give a morning urine sample, the urine should have been in the bladder for at least 4 hours. Your healthcare institution will give you patient instructions for the collection of a urine sample. Follow the instructions you have been given.
Preparing for a Stool Sample:
Your doctor will decide what kind of stool sample is required and will give you a referral for laboratory testing. Based on the referral you will be given the patient instructions for the required stool sample as well as the necessary equipment. Follow the patient instructions. The instructions will tell you how to prepare for your test, how to collect the samples, what information you need to write on the stickers you attach onto the container, how to pack the sample container, how to store the sample, and how soon you need to bring it to the laboratory.
Feel free to ask your doctor or nurse during your appointment what kinds of stool tests will be done and how you can ensure that the test results from your stool sample will be reliable.
What can I eat before a laboratory test?
If they do not require fasting, you can eat a light meal before having your samples collected. You can drink water as usual. If preparing for the test requires that you absolutely avoid any specific food, you will be given more detailed instructions from your healthcare institution.
How do I know what laboratory tests will be done, so that I know how to prepare?
You can inquire about the laboratory tests that have been ordered for you from the healthcare institution you received your referral from. They may also be visible in Omakanta.
Can I take my regular medications before having my samples collected?
You can take your regular medications as usual, unless it has been specifically forbidden.
Can I drink coffee or water before a test?
If you are required to fast before your blood test, you cannot drink coffee before your sample is collected.
You may drink water as usual, even if a fast is required.
Can I do sports before a test?
Sports or physical exertion may affect test results. Physical exertion that causes you to sweat or be out of breath should be avoided for 24 hours before your sample is collected.
I have to fast before my test. How long is the fast?
If you have been instructed to fast before a test, it generally means that you need to abstain from food and drink for 10 hours before your sample is collected.
Does alcohol affect my preparation?
Stimulants (alcohol, coffee, tea, refreshments) can affect hormone and enzyme levels, blood sugar levels, triglyceride levels, and fluid balance, which can affect other laboratory tests as well. You should avoid smoking and drinking coffee, tea or refreshments from the previous evening onward. You should avoid alcohol for 24 hours before a test.
Can I take samples collected at home to any laboratory sample collection site?
Samples collected at home can be taken to any Nordlab sample collection site in your area.
Can I take samples collected at home without booking an appointment?
If you have a referral from a health centre or hospital, you can take urine samples collected at home without booking an appointment. Please check the opening hours of the laboratory sample collection site.
How do I get sample containers for collecting a sample at home?
You will receive equipment and instructions for sample collection from your own healthcare institution. You can also pick up the equipment you need from a Nordlab sample collection site without booking an appointment (Do not use your own containers!).
How long do samples collected at home stay fresh?
Urine Samples:
The shelf life and storing temperatures of different samples collected at home (mid-stream, timed collection, and first catch urine samples) vary. Please check and follow the instructions concerning the storage of your sample which you have received from your healthcare institution.
Read more about urine samples collected at home.
Stool Samples:
If you cannot take a stool sample to a laboratory as soon as possible after collection, store the sample container in refrigerator temperatures. Take the sample container to a laboratory at the latest on the day after collecting the sample.
You can submit stool samples to a laboratory without booking an appointment.
Can I visit any NordLab sample collection site?
You can visit any Nordlab sample collection site in your area
Why are the sample collection times behind schedule?
The listed sample collection time is a referential check-in time.
When are the sample collection sites open?
We at Nordlab operate in over 70 laboratory sample collection sites. Their opening times vary and we therefore advise that you check the opening information of the laboratory sample collection site you are interested in visiting.
I have a flu. Should I cancel my laboratory appointment?
A mild flu does not prevent you from being able to have a blood test. However, if you are feverish or you have a stomach flu, we recommend postponing your blood test.
If you suspect that have contracted covid, stay at home and contact your local healthcare help desk number.
Can I choose the worker I want to take my blood test?
A patient may choose the licensed healthcare professional, for instance the doctor or nurse who treats them, if the healthcare institution’s services allow for it (Health Care Act 1326/2010, paragraph 49).
Sample collection and performing of laboratory tests are services which support the treatment of a patient. A sample collector does not treat a patient. Therefore choosing a sample collector is not possible.
I feel very nervous about needles and blood tests. What should I do?
Tell the nurse who is taking your blood samples, that having your blood drawn scares you. The nurse will take this into account and will attempt to ease your feeling of fear in the situation.
Are the needles single-use?
Yes, the needles are sterile as well as individually packed and single-use.
Is it possible that the site from which the blood is drawn becomes infected or bruised?
It is possible for the site to become infected. Symptoms of infection include the skin being flushed, feeling hot, or sore. An infection develops only after several hours or a day after the blood sample has been taken. Vein infections must be treated by a doctor.
It is also possible that bruises form, but adequate pressing of the site usually prevents bruising. Therefore it is good to press the site for at least 3-4 minutes to prevent subsequent bleeding.
If you have a blood clotting disorder or blood thinning medication or if the drawing site continues bleeding, one should keep pressing the area until the bleeding stops.
Can I go to the gym or do other sports after having a blood sample drawn?
Yes, if your condition is normal and the bleeding from the drawing site has stopped.
How much blood is usually drawn for laboratory testing?
Usually 1-5 vials of blood are drawn, depending on the planned tests.
How long does it take to receive the laboratory results?
The results of most laboratory tests come at the latest on the next weekday. Some tests however require a longer time period.
How will I get my laboratory results? Will the doctor call me?
Your healthcare institution will interpret your laboratory results for you. While visiting the doctor or nurse, feel free to ask them when and how you will be notified of your laboratory test results. It is also possible to view laboratory test results in Omakanta. This depends however on whether your healthcare institution, which has ordered the tests, has uploaded the results onto Omakanta.
Are laboratory test results visible in Omakanta?
Usually laboratory test results are also visible in the Omakanta or Omahoito services. This depends however on whether your healthcare institution, which has ordered the tests, has uploaded the results onto Omakanta.
What laboratory tests have been done? How do I know what results to expect?
You can ask the institution from which you received your laboratory referral. They may also be visible in Omakanta.
Will I be able to see the results for my child in Omakanta?
A guardian can visit the Omakanta of a child under 10 years of age.
Why are not all results visible in Omakanta?
The results will not be visible in Omakanta if the entity who has ordered the tests has not joined the Omakanta service or uploaded the information onto Omakanta. Sometimes entity who has ordered the tests has set a delay in uploading the results onto Omakanta. If your results are not visible in Omakanta, you can contact the healthcare institution responsible for ordering the tests (hospital, health centre, or equivalent).
What phone number can I call if I want to inquire about my laboratory test results?
The laboratory does not convey laboratory results by phone under any circumstance. Please contact your own healthcare institution if you have questions regarding your laboratory results.
Is it possible to receive my test results by email?
Laboratory test results are confidential personal information. Sending them by normal email is not sufficiently secure. Therefore it is not possible to get laboratory test results by email.
Can I pick my test results straight from the laboratory?
It is not possible to pick laboratory test results straight from the laboratory. While visiting the doctor or nurse, ask them how you will be notified of your results. The results may also be uploaded onto Omakanta by the entity responsible for ordering the tests.
Will an electrocardiogram be visible in Omakanta?
Electrocardiograms are not visible in Omakanta or Omahoito. Electrocardiograms are stored in the digital photo archives of your hospital district. Your doctor will be able to access it. Electrocardiograms are printed onto paper if a digital photo archive is not in use.
Who is a self-paying customer?
A self-paying customer is someone with a referral from a private doctor.
Will laboratory tests and test results ordered by a private doctor be visible in Omakanta?
No. If you are a self-paying customer, i.e. you have a private doctor’s referral, your laboratory tests will not be visible in Omakanta. In addition your laboratory test results will not be visible in Omakanta.
I have a referral from a private doctor. Who will pay for my tests?
If you have a referral from a private doctor, you are a so-called self-paying customer. A self-paying customer pays for the tests ordered by a private doctor.
Does a self-paying customer need to book an appointment?
Yes. You need to book an appointment for services for self-paying customers.
Do I have to check in at the laboratory, if I have a private doctor’s referral for a blood test?
The check-in policy varies across the different Nordlab sample collection sites. When you arrive at the sample collection site, check the instructions on site and follow them.
How will I receive my laboratory test results as a self-paying customer?
Depending on the laboratory, the results for your laboratory tests will be sent by letter to the patient’s home address, through the electronic postal service, or the customer will need to pick them up from the laboratory.
Please confirm the delivery policy of the results and billing when getting you sample collected.
How does the billing work?
The laboratory will sent the bill to a self-paying customer after all the results are complete. It is not possible to pay by cash or card at the sample collection site, neither are the fees covered by Kela’s reimbursement for medical expenses.
Are the laboratory tests of a self-paying customer eligible for Kela’s reimbursement for medical expenses?
The fees are not covered by Kela’s reimbursement for medical expenses.
How long does it take to get the results for a covid test?
The results of a new covid test are usually ready in around 1-3 days after the test has been taken.
How can I get the results for my covid test?
Keep up-to-date with the newest information on sending covid test results in your area. It is not possible to inquire after covid test results from the laboratory.
Where can I book a covid test appointment?
Covid tests are not offered in any of Nordlab’s sample collection sites.
Keep up-to-date with the newest information on covid testing in your area.