A bigger lab panel isn't always a better one

One question I hear a lot is whether a bigger lab panel is a better one. It's a fair question, since a lot of the marketing in our space sells the number of biomarkers like it's the product. From what I've seen, past a certain point more tests mostly create more things to explain. Each flagged result that doesn't change anything still takes time in the visit, and it can worry someone for no good reason. The panels I like are the ones where every test has a reason to be there, and someone could tell you what they'd do differently depending on the result. That's a harder standard than it sounds. It also means a shorter panel can be the more thoughtful one, which is a tough thing to sell, though I think it's true. If you've ever gotten a hundred results back and walked away with two things to work on, those two were usually the part that mattered.