Pathology and laboratory results

Identifies patient pathology and laboratory result records - blood test and clinical chemistry results, laboratory reports, and histopathology, cytology or biopsy reports - by combining a pathology/laboratory report phrase with populated record structure (labelled patient identifiers, specimen fields, result lines with units and a reference range or H/L flag, and a reporting pathologist). Protected health information under applicable data protection regulations. The slug predates the merge of the former pathology reports classifier and is kept for stability.

Type: regex
Engine: boost_regex
Confidence: medium
Confidence justification: Enforce tiers require populated record structure (labelled patient, specimen, result or pathologist fields) independent of the report phrase; phrase-only hits stay discovery-only at 65. Health education, service brochures, price lists and research methods text can still carry the phrases, so confidence stays medium.
Detection quality: Topic false positive
Jurisdictions: global
Regulations: GDPR, Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld), My Health Records Act 2012 (Cth), NDB Scheme (Cth), Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
Frameworks: ISO 27001, ISO 27701
Data categories: healthcare, phi
Scope: wide
Risk rating: 8
Platform compatibility: Purview: Compatible, GCP DLP: Compatible, Macie: Compatible, Zscaler: Compatible, Palo Alto: Degraded, Netskope: Unsupported

Pattern

(?is)\b(?:laboratory\s+(?:tests?|reports?|results?)|lab\s+results|test\s+results|blood\s+tests?|pathology\s+(?:results?|reports?)|reference\s+range|clinical\s+chemistry|histopathology(?:\s+reports?)?|cytology\s+reports?|biopsy\s+reports?|surgical\s+pathology|microscopic\s+(?:examination|description)|gross\s+description|tissue\s+sample)\b

Corroborative evidence keywords

laboratory test results, pathology report, histopathology, cytology, biopsy report, pathologist, specimen, reference range, My Health Record, pathology result, diagnostic imaging, discharge summary, prescription record, immunisation history, immunization history, organ donor, clinical trial, medical history, allergy, blood test (+29 more)

Proximity: 300 characters

Should match

CUMULATIVE PATHOLOGY REPORT Patient: Morgan Ellisdale URN: 118204 DOB: 17/03/1968 Specimen type: Serum Collected: 21/09/2026 08:15 Lab number: 26-771904 Sodium 138 mmol/L (135-145) Potassium 5.8 mmol/L H (3.5-5.2) Creatinine 142 umol/L H (45-90) Reporting pathologist: Dr Priya Ramanathan — Populated chemistry report with patient identifiers, specimen fields, flagged result lines and pathologist (85)
HISTOPATHOLOGY REPORT Name: Jordan Whitlock MRN: 5540921 Specimen type: Skin excision, left forearm Received: 19/09/2026 Accession number: HS26-04417 Microscopic description: Sections show an ulcerated nodular basal cell carcinoma. Margins clear, closest 2 mm peripheral. Reported by: Dr Alex Moreau — Histopathology report carried over from the absorbed pathology reports classifier, populated with patient, specimen and pathologist fields (85)
Blood test results for Casey Rourke UR number: 0093317 Full blood count Haemoglobin 102 g/L L (115-165) WCC 7.2 x10^9/L (4.0-11.0) Platelets 388 x10^9/L (150-400) — Full blood count with labelled UR number and result lines with units and reference ranges (85)
laboratory test Patient name: Avery Teston URN: 004418273 Date of birth: 04/02/1991 Clinician: Dr Jordan Staffson Notes: laboratory test reviewed at appointment on 12/08/2026. — Laboratory test note with labelled patient identifiers only (75)
Cytology report - specimen type: cervical screening, liquid-based. Collected: 03/09/2026. No epithelial cell abnormality detected. — Cytology report with specimen fields but no patient identifiers (75)

Should not match

unrelated generic text without domain phrases — No relevant topic phrases present
patient biometric — Generic word pair from old broad template should not match
Policy guidance: this procedure explains how records about laboratory test are handled, who may access them and how long they are kept. It contains no records about any person or system. — Policy guidance naming the topic without any record (discovery only)
Pathology services at the hospital: our laboratory runs more than 2,000 blood tests a day and reports histopathology for the region. Collection centres are open 7am to 4pm on weekdays and no appointment is needed. Your doctor receives pathology results electronically, usually within 24 hours, and will discuss them with you. Please bring your request form and Medicare card. — Hospital pathology services brochure - report phrases without any patient record (discovery only)
Laboratory test price list 2026-27 (private patients) Full blood count (FBC) - EDTA whole blood - $32.50 Urea, electrolytes and creatinine (UEC) - serum - $28.90 HbA1c - EDTA whole blood - $41.00 Histopathology, single specimen - $96.00 Prices include GST where applicable. — Laboratory price list naming tests and specimen types without results or patients (discovery only)
Methods: venous blood samples were drawn after an overnight fast and analysed in an accredited clinical chemistry laboratory. Serum sodium, potassium and creatinine were measured on an automated analyser. Mean eGFR was 88 mL/min/1.73m2 (SD 14). Participants whose results fell outside the laboratory reference range were referred to their general practitioner. — Research methods paragraph with aggregate values and no patient record (discovery only)

Known false positives

Medical terminology in health education materials, research publications, clinical guidelines, or public health documents without patient-specific data. Mitigation: Enforce tiers require labelled patient, specimen, result-line or pathologist fields beside the report phrase; phrase-only hits are discovery-only at 65.
Pathology service brochures, test catalogues and laboratory price lists that name tests, specimen types and report types without any patient result. Mitigation: Price and catalogue lines carry no labelled field values or unit-plus-range result lines, so they stay at 65.
Research methods and results sections quoting aggregate laboratory values with units. Mitigation: A result line alone never enforces; 85 needs a second distinct structure type such as a labelled patient or specimen field.
Teaching cases and pathology training material with fully populated mock reports. Mitigation: Template/sample framing (e.g. "sample data", "training example", "example only") suppresses every tier; unframed mock reports can still reach enforce tiers.