A patient has impaired intracranial regulation and hypoxemia. The primary health care provider prescribes red blood cell indices for the patient, and the patient later asks the nurse to explain the purpose of the test. What should the nurse tell the patient?
A. It assesses blood clotting ability.
B. It measures the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells.
C. It evaluates the number of platelets in the blood.
D. It determines the clotting time of the blood.