How to Choose a Veterinary Diagnostic Lab for Your Practice
9 min read
Choosing a veterinary diagnostic lab is not just a purchasing decision. It affects your doctors, technicians, client communication, daily workflow, turnaround times, billing, and the consistency of patient care.
For many practices, the default choice is to stay with the largest lab provider because switching feels disruptive. The problem is that convenience can hide real costs: rising invoices, limited flexibility, slow support, confusing workflows, or service gaps that your team quietly works around every day.
The right veterinary diagnostic lab should make your practice easier to run. It should support your clinical needs, fit into your existing systems, provide clear results, and help your team move from sample collection to diagnosis without unnecessary friction.
This guide breaks down what practice owners, practice managers, and medical directors should look for when evaluating a diagnostic lab.
Start With How Your Practice Actually Uses the Lab
Before comparing labs, look at your current workflow.
Most practices do not need every possible diagnostic service every day. They need a lab that handles their most common testing well, supports the occasional complex case, and gives the team a clear process for submitting samples and receiving results.
Start by reviewing:
- Your most frequently ordered tests and panels
- Turnaround times your doctors rely on
- Sample pickup or shipping needs
- PMS or PIMS integration requirements
- Current lab invoices and annual price increases
- Support issues your staff runs into repeatedly
This gives you a practical baseline. A lab may look strong on paper, but the real question is whether it fits the way your clinic operates.
Compare Total Monthly Cost, Not Just Test Pricing
The cheapest individual test is not always the lowest-cost lab relationship.
Veterinary practices should evaluate the total cost of using a lab across the month. That includes test pricing, bundled panels, pickup or shipping costs, supply costs, contract terms, minimums, annual increases, and the administrative time required to manage lab-related issues.
A slightly lower test price can disappear quickly if your team spends extra time tracking results, correcting submissions, calling support, or managing billing confusion.
For many practices, the opportunity is not just finding a cheaper lab. It is finding a lab relationship that gives you more control over your veterinary lab costs without cutting clinical coverage.
When reviewing cost, ask:
- Are prices clear and predictable?
- Are increases explained in advance?
- Are there minimums or volume requirements?
- Are you locked into a long-term agreement?
- Can the lab help you compare your current monthly spend?
A strong veterinary reference lab should be willing to help you understand where your money is going and where savings may be possible.
Make Sure the Test Menu Matches Your Clinical Needs
A veterinary diagnostic lab should support the work your doctors already do.
For general practices, that often includes hematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, fecal testing, cytology, histopathology, microbiology, serology, PCR testing, allergy testing, and specialty panels.
The test menu should be deep enough to cover routine cases and flexible enough to support more complex diagnostics when needed.
A good evaluation should look beyond the number of tests listed. Look at how easy it is to find the right test, submit the right sample, understand handling requirements, and interpret the results once they come back. A clear test guide makes this far easier for your team.
Practices should also review how the lab handles related services such as:
- Sample submission guidance
- Test directory access
- Result delivery options
- Specialist or technical consultation
- Add-on testing when appropriate
- Clear specimen requirements
A broad test menu is useful. A broad test menu with clear operational support is better.
Evaluate Turnaround Time by Test Type
Turnaround time matters, but it should be evaluated realistically.
Not every test has the same urgency. Routine bloodwork, cultures, histopathology, PCR testing, and allergy panels all have different timelines. A lab should be clear about expected turnaround times by test type, not just provide a vague promise of "fast results."
For your practice, the key question is whether turnaround times support your clinical workflow and client communication.
If doctors are waiting on results before changing treatment plans, the lab's process matters. If clients are expecting updates, delays create extra pressure on your staff. If results are inconsistent or difficult to access, your team loses time.
Ask each lab how results are delivered, how delays are communicated, and what support is available when a case needs follow-up.
Review Specimen Logistics Before You Switch
Specimen logistics are one of the biggest reasons practices hesitate to change labs.
That concern is valid. Even if a lab has strong pricing and test coverage, your team still needs a simple way to get samples from the clinic to the lab.
Local practices may need courier pickup. Out-of-area practices may need clear out-of-state shipping instructions, supplies, and label support. Multi-location practices may need a consistent process across clinics.
Before choosing a lab, ask:
- Does the lab offer local courier pickup?
- Can out-of-area practices ship samples easily?
- Are shipping labels available?
- Are supplies and submission materials provided?
- Are specimen requirements clear?
- Who helps if a sample is delayed, mislabeled, or submitted incorrectly?
A good lab does not leave your team guessing. It gives your staff a repeatable process, down to a simple way to request a shipping label when you need one.
Check PMS and PIMS Integration Options
A diagnostic lab should fit into your practice management workflow as much as possible.
If your practice uses systems like AVImark, Cornerstone, ezyVet, Impromed, Instinct, Pulse, Digitail, Shepherd, or Vet Badger, ask how the lab handles PMS and PIMS integration or result delivery.
The goal is not just technical compatibility. The goal is fewer manual steps for your team.
Your staff should not have to chase results across disconnected systems, manually re-enter data, or create workarounds that increase the risk of errors. The smoother the integration, the easier it is for doctors and technicians to use the lab consistently.
When reviewing integration, ask how orders are submitted, how results are returned, what setup requires, and what happens if your practice changes systems later.
Look Closely at Support
Lab support matters most when something goes wrong.
A missing result, unclear specimen requirement, billing question, or urgent follow-up can slow down the whole practice. Large lab providers may have scale, but that does not always mean your team gets quick, human support when they need it.
When evaluating a veterinary diagnostic lab, look at how easy it is to reach someone who can actually help.
Strong support should include practical help with submissions, results, logistics, billing questions, integrations, and onboarding. It should also include clear communication when there is a delay or issue.
A lab should not feel like a black box. Your team should know who to contact and what to expect.
Read the Contract Before You Commit
Many practices stay with a lab because the contract feels too hard to unwind.
Before signing with any diagnostic lab, review the terms carefully. Look for contract length, renewal language, termination requirements, minimum spend, exclusivity, annual increases, bundled pricing, and any restrictions that limit your flexibility.
Some practices do not need to fully replace their current lab immediately. A phased approach may make more sense.
You may start by sending specific test categories, specialty panels, overflow work, or out-of-contract testing to a second lab. This lets your team evaluate service quality, turnaround times, logistics, and support before making a broader change.
A flexible lab partner should be able to support that kind of transition.
Plan the Switch Around Workflow, Not Just Pricing
Switching labs should not be treated as a one-day flip.
A better approach is to map the transition around your practice's actual workflow. That may include reviewing current test usage, identifying priority panels, setting up integrations, confirming pickup or shipping logistics, training staff on submissions, and testing the process before moving more volume.
The smoother the rollout, the easier veterinary lab switching becomes for doctors and technicians.
A practical switch usually includes:
- Reviewing current lab usage and invoices
- Matching common tests and panels
- Confirming PMS or PIMS workflow
- Setting up courier pickup or shipping
- Training staff on submissions and result access
- Starting with priority testing before expanding
This reduces disruption and gives your team time to build confidence.
The Best Lab Is the One Your Team Can Actually Use
The right veterinary diagnostic lab is not always the biggest name. It is the lab that supports your clinical work, fits your systems, communicates clearly, and helps your practice control costs without making daily operations harder.
When comparing labs, focus on five core areas:
- Cost: Are monthly lab costs predictable and reasonable?
- Coverage: Does the test menu support your clinical needs?
- Workflow: Does the lab fit your practice management system and daily process?
- Logistics: Can your team submit samples without friction?
- Support: Can you reach real people when you need help?
A diagnostic lab for veterinary practices should make diagnostic work easier, not add another layer of complexity.
Considering a New Veterinary Diagnostic Lab?
B&L Reference Laboratory helps veterinary practices evaluate diagnostic testing, lab costs, integrations, courier support, shipping workflows, and onboarding options.
Practices choose B&L when they want full-service diagnostic support, flexible lab options, and a more practical relationship with their reference lab.
If your practice is reviewing lab costs, comparing providers, or preparing for a transition, you can view the test guide, request a shipping label, or Request Info to discuss your practice's diagnostic lab needs.