09/09/2026
A result can be "normal" and still not answer the question.
A reference range doesn't make the decision — a clinician does. It flags a number as expected or unexpected; it doesn't know this patient's history, their symptoms, what changed six months ago, or what else is happening in their body right now.
That's the role of clinical reasoning: weighing a result against the whole picture, deciding whether it's actually reassuring or just quiet, and staying responsible for that call rather than deferring to the number.
At Australian Centre for Functional Medicine, the range informs the decision. It doesn't replace it.