Office hours:
Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM

	Map and driving directions to the Public Health Laboratory
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The primary objective of the Public Health – Seattle & King County Laboratory is to assist in the prevention of disease spread. This is accomplished by identifying patients and environmental samples which carry organisms that are potentially harmful to the health of the residents of King County. One of the ways to achieve this objective is for the public health laboratory to make available certain services to health care providers.

The following fee and billing information only applies to services provided to non-Public Health – Seattle & King County health care providers.

• Download the Lab Test Order Form (PDF)             

A fee which covers the cost of providing service is imposed for some procedures;  other procedures are provided at no charge to health care providers located in King County.

There is no fee for specimens submitted in compliance with WAC regulations (see below).

We are not authorized to bill individual patients.  Statements will be sent each month to the health care providers who have submitted specimens.  Health care providers can avoid billing by having their patient submit a check for payment of test at the time the specimen is submitted. 

We will bill DSHS if a Medicaid coupon or a Medicaid Patient Identification Code (PIC) number, health care provider’s name, and diagnosis code accompanies the patient's specimen.  We will also bill private insurance, other than Regence Blue Shield, if the required billing information accompanies the patient’s specimen.  We are not authorized to bill Medicare and Regence Blue Shield; hence specimens submitted for patients with Medicare and Regence Blue Shield will be billed to the health care providers.

The Public Health Laboratory accepts the following from laboratories in King County for confirmation and further testing: serum specimens found to be reactive in a screening test for syphilis or positive for measles IgM antibody; specimens on suspect cases of botulism or rabies; specimens found to be positive for cyclospora; and cultures or other appropriate clinical material found to be positive or suspicious for brucella, cholera, diphtheria, disease of suspected bioterrorism origin, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, meningococcal disease, plague, salmonella, shigella, or tularemia. Tuberculosis cultures are sent directly to the State Public Health Laboratory for confirmation.  Such specimens must be submitted by laboratories in King County in order to comply with Washington State Board of Health regulations (WAC 246-101-201).

The public health laboratory strongly encourages all laboratories located in King County to submit their Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates for confirmation. Submission of N. gonorrhoeae subcultures will satisfy the laboratory reporting requirement for gonorrhea (WAC 246-101-201).

When submitting specimens to the public health laboratory, please complete a test order form and send with the specimen to the Public Health – Seattle & King County Laboratory located in the Basement of the West Clinic at Harborview Medical Center (325 9th Avenue, Room BWC03, Box 359973, Seattle, WA 98104-2499) or to a health department specimen pickup station.

Refrigerate all specimens except gonorrhea cultures, trichomonas cultures, meningococcus cultures, and chancroid cultures until they are delivered to the public health laboratory or to a health department specimen pickup station. Gonorrhea cultures are to be kept in a 35-37º C incubator with 3-10% CO₂ and increased humidity overnight before they are delivered to the public health laboratory or to a health department specimen pickup station. Trichomonas cultures are to be kept at room temperature and delivered to the public health laboratory the same day or kept in a 37ºC incubator overnight before they are delivered to the public health laboratory or to a health department specimen pickup station. Most supplies and containers are available at the public health laboratory and at health department specimen pickup stations.

The addresses of the health department specimen pickup stations and approximate specimen pickup times are listed on page 8 of the Directory of Services.

For further information, contact the public health laboratory at 206-744-8950 or by FAX at 206-744-8963.