For all of our patients, the in-house lab at MHF provides a faster, more affordable, and more reliable means of receiving test results and blood work at minimal cost.

The lab at MHF was created from a mission to provide affordable care for patients living with HIV at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. MHF CEO Dr. Tony Mills says, “From the beginning, we were taking care of patients regardless of their ability to pay. And while it was easy for me to write off my physician fee, HIV patients need lab work and they need a lot of lab work, and some of that lab work is very expensive. So, one of the first things we did was we created our own clinical laboratory. And that way, I knew exactly what the costs were to run the test and I could make the decision to write this off in patients who needed to have these tests done, but couldn't afford it.”

Today, the lab at MHF ensures the most expedited, secure results for our care sites across Los Angeles.

COLA Recognizes Men’s Health Foundation for Quality Laboratory Services

MHF’s in-house laboratory has met all the criteria for Laboratory Accreditation by the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation (COLA) Inc., a leading national laboratory accreditor, whose program and standards enable clinical laboratories and staff to meet United States Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) and other regulatory requirements.

Through a mentoring approach using education to improve quality and patient safety, accreditation is given to laboratories that apply the highest standards of quality in day-to-day operations, demonstrate continued accuracy in the performance of proficiency testing, and pass a rigorous on-site laboratory survey.

OUR Technology

ASI Evolution

We test over 30,000 specimens for syphilis annually. Until recently, we were testing them manually, a time-consuming process which could have caused delays in reporting crucial results.

ASI Evolution is an automated technology with a high-resolution camera which can see more accurately as compared to the human eye and runs 192 tests an hour. This instrument has improved our already rapid turnaround time for reporting results.

Alinity C-I Series

Alinity is a harmonized system for integration across key laboratory disciplines. This instrument is Abbott Company's next-generation system fueled by an innovative test menu. Our Alinity has two components of chemistry and Immunoassay. The instrument holds 150 patient samples and 47 different test reagents. The chemistry side performs 1,350 tests per hour and the immunoassay side performs 200 state-of-the-art immunology assays per hour.

We run our HIV 4th generation test, hepatitis tests, syphilis antibody tests and all hormones and chemistry tests on this exceptional analyzer and report our patients accurate test results with a fast turnaround time.

Image of Holigic Panther medical lab equipment.

Holigic Panthers

We have two Panthers. As the name suggests, they are tough with a high throughput. Panthers are fully automated and allow samples to be loaded at the end of the day and run labor-free after hours. We run our chlamydia and gonorrhea tests on Holigic Panthers.

ROCHE Cobas 5800

All our high-tech PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) assays including HIV Viral Load, HIV1/HIV-2 Qualitative screening for our PrEP patients, hepatitis C viral load and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) are tested on this instrument. PCR tests are highly sensitive and accurate and detect viruses genetic material (RNA or DNA) by amplifying it through a chemical process making even small amounts detectable.