A funny thing happened to me today at the phlebotomists

[pellicle]

I was going to go in there to get a blood draw for a different purpose and decided to ask also for an INR as well so that I can do another baseline. The local sucker of blood here happens to be run out of the local "nursing home".

So the nurse looks at the chart and says "why are you getting an INR done? Are you on warfarin?" Which led to the inevitable line of questioning on

1. "why am I on warfarin" - mechanical valve
2. "who is managing me" - me (she replies, yes, its not hard once you know how)
3. "how often am I getting INR readings ..." - Roche Coaguchek

"Oh we have them here ... they're great. None of the Doctors here would want to go back to vein draws now"

So its led them to have better out comes for their patients on Warfarin

The real grinner on this test is that now I can't get the result from my INR because the lab insists I see the doctor to discuss this ... next week.

Good thing my Coagucheck stores the data with dates and stuff, so that I can just refer back to the test I took with my coaguchek when I got home...

so there you go. That's how we seem to be doing it in Australia now

 

[LondonAndy]

I found a similar mix of advancement and old fashioned procedures when I moved home recently. I moved about 40 miles/65km, and so from a London hospital's anticoagulation clinic to a local doctor's practice just outside London. I met the nurse for the first time this week to do a comparison INR reading, she using a CoaguChek Pro and me a CoaguChek XS - results bang in range and differed by 0.1, so all happy and I will next see her in 6 months for my next check. I will receive a hand completed form with my result by post (!), and will need to show this to the Pharmacy when I pick up Warfarin supplies.

She was delighted that I was self-managing but said only 2 or 3 other patients were home testing, and that most patients still preferred to attend for a test at the practice.

 

[pellicle]

a hand completed form with my result by post (!),

with a stamp no doubt :-D

 

[Superman]

We used to take the kids to see a local improv group, pre-pandemic. If you ever get to a show locally, great fun. When they ask for a funny sounding job, “phlebotomist” is a winner! Not many know of the official job title. Makes the show extra special when your suggestion gets used in a bit.