[robbiep]

Only in countries that are allowed to differentiate on the basis of lab tests. Which is not the case where I practice.

If a lab result is outside the normal range and a patient has a reason for it to be outside the normal range, that's fine. If a patient has a deviation that is related to their presenting complaint, that's fine too. If a patient has an unexplained deviation which is not related to the presenting complaint, well, there's a 1 in 20 chance that the variation is statistical only. So you use your clinical judgement. is this a patient who requires outpatient follow-up and repeat, or is this an abberation?

[martingoodson]

Actually, there is a one in twenty chance that a normal person would generate the results in question. Not the same thing.