When I saw my primary care physician in Dallas in April, she indicated that there were two blood tests that she would like to have re-done in 3 months. I said that I would not be back in the DFW area for about a year, but that I could try to get the bloodwork done wherever we were in 3 months. She let me know that she could not order tests in another state, but I confidently said that I could find someone who would give me orders for the bloodwork and I would get the results to her...
Hmmm... my confidence may have been over-confidence.
We've learned previously that physicians in small town areas are generally more accommodating or reasonable than those in cities. I figured the county where I grew up would be a good place to try to visit a doctor and get the bloodwork done.
I called the local doctor's offices - the wife of a fellow that I grew up with is in practice there, I figured that would be as good as any... but... they would not give me an appointment if I wasn't interested in them becoming my primary care physician. The receptionist recommended that I go to a minor/urgent care place like Patient First.
So, I headed to Patient First this morning - fasting - so I was in a really good mood, not! They don't take appointments, but they open at 8am. I got there soon after 8am, and after signing in, they called me back to get more information. The lady took my information, but when she understood what I needed, went back to talk to someone else. Turns out minor/urgent care, or at least Patient First, couldn't do what I needed either. They couldn't write an order for a blood test that they didn't themselves see the need for. I had my previous results, but... no dice.
The receptionist there recommended that I go to LabCorp because they draw blood for blood tests.
Well, I figured LabCorp wouldn't do it either, not without a doctor's orders. I called them, and the receptionist there confirmed that they would not... but! She indicated that there was a group called "Request A Test" that would produce the order for me, as long as it was a bloodwork test that they handled. What I needed was on their list... so I called Request A Test, she took some information from me, including my credit card number for 2 tests at $29 each, and before I got to LabCorp, the faxed order was already there!
If all goes as expected, I will have online access to the test results early next week and will be able to send to my doctor in the DFW area.
Wish I had known about this at the beginning - it was REALLY easy, and certainly lower cost than what I would have needed to pay to see a doctor and get the tests.
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