Understanding Your Test Results
Every Epicentre test comes with two reports: a plain-language ODx functional health report that colour-codes your markers against optimal ranges, and a standard lab report your doctor will recognise. This guide explains what your results mean, how to read the common markers, and how to get them.
What You Receive
Most Epicentre tests come with two reports delivered together by email. You do not need to request them separately.
ODx Functional Health Report
IncludedYour plain-language report. Uses optimal ranges (not just disease-cutoff ranges) to show where your markers sit. Colour-coded: green (optimal), yellow (needs attention), red (outside range). Tracks trends over time if you retest. Actionable insights in everyday language.
Included automatically with most blood tests. Sexual health and gut health tests come with their own specialist reports instead. Learn more about ODx.
Standard Lab Report
IncludedThe report your doctor recognises. Uses conventional reference ranges and medical formatting. Share this with any healthcare practitioner for clinical interpretation. Includes all biomarker values, units and reference ranges.
How to Read Your Results
Green markers
Within optimal range. No action needed. Keep doing what you are doing.
Yellow markers
Drifting from optimal. May benefit from dietary, lifestyle or supplement changes.
Red markers
Outside optimal range. Worth discussing with a healthcare practitioner or health coach.
Trend arrows
Show whether markers are improving, stable or declining compared to previous tests.
Results outside range do not always mean something is wrong. Many markers fluctuate with stress, sleep, hydration, menstrual cycle and recent meals. Your ODx report provides context. If you are unsure, Epicentre can connect you with a partner doctor or health coach to walk through your results.
What your results mean: common markers explained
Your standard lab report lists each marker with a value, a unit and a reference range. Here is what the most searched markers mean in plain language. None of this is a diagnosis: read it alongside your ODx report, and with a doctor where needed.
Full blood count (FBC)
Hb (haemoglobin): the oxygen-carrying protein in red cells. Low Hb can point to anaemia, often from low iron. MCV: average red cell size. MCHC and RDW: red cell quality and how much their size varies. WBC: white cells, often raised with infection. Platelets: the cells that help blood clot.
Kidney function (U&E)
eGFR: an estimate of how well your kidneys filter, reported as a number; higher is generally better. Urea and creatinine: waste products that rise when the kidneys are under strain. Sodium and potassium: electrolytes that keep fluid and nerves balanced. Anion gap: a calculated check on the acid balance in your blood.
Liver function (LFT)
ALT and AST: enzymes that rise when liver cells are stressed or inflamed. ALP and GGT: enzymes linked to the bile system; GGT also rises with alcohol. Bilirubin: a breakdown product the liver clears. Albumin: a protein that reflects liver and nutritional status.
Inflammation
CRP: a protein the liver releases when there is inflammation or infection anywhere in the body; it rises and falls quickly. ESR: how fast red cells settle, a slower marker of ongoing inflammation.
Iron studies
Ferritin: your stored iron. Low ferritin is one of the earliest signs of iron deficiency, often before Hb drops; high ferritin can reflect inflammation. Serum iron and transferrin: the iron moving in your blood and the protein that carries it.
Thyroid
TSH: the signal from your brain to your thyroid; a high TSH usually means an underactive thyroid, a low TSH an overactive one. FT4 (and FT3): the actual thyroid hormones, read alongside TSH for the full picture.
Cholesterol (lipogram)
Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides: the fats in your blood. LDL is the one usually targeted, HDL is protective, and triglycerides rise with sugar, alcohol and recent meals, which is why this test often needs fasting.
Blood sugar
Glucose: your blood sugar at the moment of the test, usually done fasting. HbA1c: your average blood sugar over the past two to three months, a more stable picture than a single reading.
A value outside the range does not always mean something is wrong. Many markers shift with fasting, hydration, recent meals, sleep, stress, exercise and your menstrual cycle. This is why your ODx report reads markers together and in context, and why a one-off reading is less useful than a trend over time.
What Happens After You Get Results
Review your ODx report
Start with the colour-coded summary. Green means optimal, yellow means attention needed, red means outside range. Focus on red and yellow markers first.
Share with your doctor (optional)
Your results belong to you. Share the standard lab report with any doctor. The ODx report helps you understand; the lab report helps your doctor act.
Book a specialist session (optional)
For orders over R1,500, Epicentre offers a complimentary 1-on-1 ODx session to walk through your report and build a health plan. Book a session.
Connect with a treatment partner (if needed)
If your results need medical follow-up, Epicentre can connect you with independent partner doctors in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. You are never obligated to use a partner.
Retest and track trends
Test again in 3 to 6 months to measure progress. ODx tracks your trends over time, showing how lifestyle changes affect your markers.
How to get your results
Results are delivered by email to the address you give at registration. You get an email notification when your reports are ready. Here is the turnaround by test type.
Results are sent to the email address you provide at registration. You receive an email notification when your reports are ready. Working days are Monday to Friday: weekends and public holidays are excluded.
Testing on a Friday and need urgent results? Urgent samples taken on a Friday may be delayed by the weekend courier schedule. If your timing is critical, come in earlier in the week. Otherwise, expect Friday samples to follow the standard turnaround range.
Waiting longer than expected? Check your spam or junk folder first. If your results are not there, contact your branch directly or WhatsApp Epicentre on 072 843 7564. Results occasionally take longer than the usual range during high-volume periods.
Claiming From Medical Aid
For most tests, we submit the medical aid claim on your behalf at the time of testing. There is no extra charge for this. Coverage varies by scheme and by plan, so we always confirm what your plan pays for before any tests are run.
Three things worth knowing if you are using medical aid:
- Doctor's referral. For preventative or chronic claims, your scheme almost always wants a doctor's referral. If you are paying cash, no referral is needed.
- ICD-10 code (chronic patients). If you are registered for a chronic condition (hypertension I10, Type 2 diabetes E11, asthma J45 and so on), tell us your ICD-10 code when you book. We use it to bill against your chronic benefits, not your day-to-day savings.
- Even hospital plans have preventative benefits. Many people on hospital plans assume they get nothing for day-to-day testing. Most plans include a preventative pot for screening tests like cholesterol, glucose, HPV and PSA.
Read our medical aid guide for the full picture across preventative, PMB and chronic benefits.
Special Report Types
Sexual health results
PCR results with pathogen-specific findings. 5 to 7 working days. Includes treatment pathway if positive.
Gut health results
Microbiome analysis with organism counts. 5 to 7 working days. Includes beneficial, opportunistic and pathogen categories.
Femmflo Panel results
Delivered through the Femmflo app with hormone insights. 2 to 5 working days.
Home kit results
Same reports as walk-in tests. Turnaround starts when your sample reaches the lab.
Your Privacy
Results are sent only to the email address you provide at registration. Epicentre does not share your results with anyone, including employers, insurers or family members, without your written consent. Anonymous testing is available for sexual health. All data is handled in accordance with POPIA (the Protection of Personal Information Act).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I read my blood test results?
What is the difference between a normal range and an optimal range?
How long do results take?
How do I receive my results?
What is an ODx functional health report?
Can I share my results with my doctor?
Are my results confidential?
What should I do if my results are abnormal?
Can I get my results faster?
Can I claim my test from medical aid?
I have not received my results. What should I do?
Not Tested Yet?
Walk in at any branch or order a home kit. No doctor's referral needed if you are paying cash. Results by email in 2 to 7 working days.
Walk-in labs: Observatory (Cape Town), Hillcrest (Durban), Parktown North (Johannesburg). Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:00. Practice number 1117394.