Laboratory testing shapes nearly 70% of clinical decisions, a figure that positions it as the single highest-influence input in routine care. When the dollars spent on that category grow faster than actual test volume, it is a management signal, not a demand story. Avalon's 2026 Lab Trend Report, issued July 21, 2026 from Tampa, places that gap at the center of its diagnostic management analysis.
The spend-utilization divergence
The mechanism behind the gap matters. In a well-managed lab benefit, spend and utilization track each other: more decisions require more tests, and cost grows proportionately. When spending accelerates ahead of volume, the delta can point to ordering patterns drifting toward higher-cost panels or redundant testing across care settings. The report names the gap without isolating the driver, but its framing around "smarter diagnostic management" signals where corrective pressure lands.
A 70% clinical-influence rate, concentrated at diagnostic inflection points in the care episode, means that inefficiency in the lab benefit compounds across the entire episode of care. Managing that input more tightly is the argument Avalon is making.
Genetic testing, AI, and biomarkers as cost complexity
The report covers routine testing, genetic testing, AI-enabled diagnostics, and emerging biomarkers. These categories share the lab channel but carry different cost structures and utilization benchmarks. Genetic panels ordered once per patient life sit in a different economic position than metabolic panels ordered on a recurring basis. AI-enabled diagnostics add complexity because their clinical and cost performance is still being established at scale.
Emerging biomarkers present a related problem. New markers enter the test menu before payers and health systems have established utilization criteria, which means the spend curve tends to run ahead of the evidence base. A diagnostic management program built around routine volume is unlikely to govern these categories the same way.
Avalon's framing
Avalon, based in Tampa, Florida, publishes the Lab Trend Report as a read on diagnostic management across the sector. The 2026 edition's central finding targets payers, health systems, and whoever sits at the decision point between test orders and reimbursement. The explicit inclusion of genetic testing and AI-enabled diagnostics alongside the routine menu in this year's scope suggests the management conversation is widening. The 70% clinical-decision figure is the number that anchors what is at stake.