Study examines whether dropping ESR tests actually lowers costsEfforts to reduce unnecessary medical testing have led some hospitals to scale back the use of a decades-old inflammation test known as the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or ESR. The analysis found that combining ESR with CRP may reduce misdiagnoses and associated follow-up costs compared with ordering CRP alone. What ESR and CRP tests measureBoth ESR and CRP are blood tests commonly used to detect inflammation in the body. At the time many of these recommendations were introduced, ESR testing was often performed manually and required more laboratory resources than today’s automated systems. For health systems evaluating their lab menus under value-based care frameworks, the relevant question may not be whether ESR costs too much, but whether its absence costs more.

Source: Daily Sun March 25, 2026 01:38 UTC