Most GI practices know how many hydrogen and methane breath tests they ran last quarter. Some track returned kits and result time. Few answer the question your gastroenterologists actually ask. Did the result change our care plan? The completion-to-care action rate — the Action Rate — answers it. For each completed breath test, you ask…
Most GI groups don’t have a breath-testing problem. They have a breath-testing program problem. Kits get ordered. Curves come back, some of the time. Turnaround is “fine.” But ask a harder question — what is breath testing actually doing for our patients, providers, and practice? — and the answers get fuzzy. If that sounds familiar,…
Interpreting your score A directional view of where your program stands today 0 – 34 High opportunity Structural change likely required 35 – 54 Mixed performance Focus on the weakest domain first 55 – 70 Strong foundation Tighten remaining gaps and benchmark Score bands from the Breath Testing Done Right playbook. From there, useful next…
Sample stability is a crucial factor directly impacting the accuracy and reliability of hydrogen and methane breath testing results. Ensuring that samples remain stable through collection, storage, and transport is essential to the integrity of a test used to detect Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO), and carbohydrate malabsorption disorders. In an…
When you look at a hydrogen and methane breath test report, it is easy to focus on the gas values and the shape of the curve. But a question sits underneath every interpretation and rarely appears anywhere on the page: how sure are we that this is a true breath sample? CO₂ correction is how…
Hydrogen and methane breath testing plays a critical role in diagnosing functional gastrointestinal disorders such as SIBO, IMO, and carbohydrate malabsorption. A breath test is ordered to answer a specific clinical question and guide next steps in patient care. When a test is never completed or returned, that diagnostic pathway stops short. Unreturned or unregistered…
Hydrogen and methane breath testing has become a staple in diagnosing conditions like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO). While effective, understanding the sensitivity and specificity of these tests is critical for interpreting results accurately. This article in our ongoing Breath Testing Done Right series delves into how sensitivity and specificity…
As practices across the country continue to adopt non-invasive hydrogen and methane breath testing to improve diagnostic accuracy for functional gastrointestinal conditions, one performance metric is proving especially critical to clinical and operational success: the test return ratio. The short answer Return ratio is the percentage of breath test kits sent out that come back…
In gastroenterology, missed tests often mean missed diagnoses—and missed opportunities for timely, effective care. As functional GI diagnostics continue to shift toward non-invasive, value-based solutions, such as hydrogen and methane breath testing, optimizing each step of the diagnostic process has never been more critical. One of the most powerful—and often overlooked—levers to improve test completion…
Accurate diagnosis of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth (IMO), and carbohydrate malabsorption relies on multiple critical factors, including the timing of the breath test and the consistency of sampling intervals. While the substrate used, patient preparation, and sample integrity all contribute to diagnostic success, the collection schedule itself plays a pivotal role…
