Pap Testing Information and Services

The Pap test

Over the past 50 years, the Pap test has been directly responsible for a 70-80% reduction in deaths from cervical cancer. The Pap test is the most successful cancer screening test in medical history. Cervical cancer is still the fifth leading cause of death from cancer in women, and early detection is crucial to ensuring a favorable outcome. Most women who die of cervical cancer have never had a Pap test.

Beginning in 1996, the liquid-based Pap test, also known as liquid-based cytology (LBC), has brought the sensitivity and specificity of the Pap test to a new level. There are two FDA-approved liquid-based Pap tests on the market, the ThinPrep® Pap and the SurePath® Pap. UniPath is proud to offer both to our clients, so they can choose the test that is right for their practice.

LBC has been proven superior to conventional Pap smears in sensitivity, specificity, and the ability to order adjunctive tests like HPV. As a result, UniPath does not offer conventional Pap smear services.

UniPath's cytotechnologists screen approximately 60 slides per day which is well below the federal maximum of 100. Our cytotechnologists are required to participate in 24 hours of continuing education each year, to ensure their diagnostic skills are up to date. These hours are completed through teleconferences, Quality Assurance testing, and attending national and regional meetings. We have four board-certified cytopathologists who sign out abnormal Pap smears.

Highlights of our Pap test services include:

• Local physician-to-physician interaction
• SurePath® and ThinPrep® technology
• SurePath® and ThinPrep® from-the-vial testing:
• High and Low risk HPV
• Chlamydia and Gonorrhea
• Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and 2
• Diagnostic Correlation of all colposcopic biopsies with concurrent and prior Pap tests
• “Within Normal Limit” Pap Letter
• Flagged reports for easy access in paper charts
• Custom reporting solutions including:
• web-based reports
• automatic faxing
• courier delivery
• month-end summaries and statistics
• Daily specimen pickup and report delivery, anywhere in the state
• Automatic resupply orders
• No patient specimen processed out-of-network

How to contact UniPath

If you have any questions, or if you would like to request additional information on cervical cancer detection and ASCUS patient management, please contact your Sales Representative, or UniPath’s Client Services Department at 303-512-2250.

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