Laboratory Services

Celebrating 100 years of service to Montana's Public Health!

The Laboratory Services Bureau partners in the prevention and control of disease and the improvement of community health by providing quality testing in support of environmental and disease assessment and control to programs, health care providers, and the general public at the state and local level.

COVID-19 Testing

MTPHL is working alongside clinical partners to perform COVID testing for the state of Montana. If you are in need of a COVID test, please contact your provider. 

Environmental Laboratory, including Water Laboratory Certification

The State Environmental Laboratory provides the following services:

• Testing to support the Safe Drinking Water Act
• Consultation and certification services to laboratories who perform Drinking Water Analyses
• Testing for possible human exposure to identified chemical threat agents
• Technical assistance in the areas of analyses selection and results interpretation

Public Health Laboratory, including Newborn Screening

The Public Health Laboratory provides the following services:

• State-of-the-art test methods for diagnosis of infectious diseases or intentional biologic or chemical threats
• Newborn screening for genetic and metabolic disorders, including short term followup
• Technical assistance and consultation in appropriate test selection, specimen requirements, and test interpretation
• Aggregated results of specific laboratory tests for statewide surveillance
• Training and continuing education opportunities

Laboratory Emergency Preparedness

Laboratory Emergency Preparedness provides the following services:

• Response to emergencies
• Drinking Water Emergency Sampling (DWES) if water tampering is suspected
• Unknown substance sampling for suspicious substances
• Handle exposure to toxic chemicals and biological agents