Re: It Pays To Know Your Shit

[Guest guest]

Bruce,

Glad you found that " incompentent " guy! I am cracking up thinking of

the look of horror on the other patients faces and then seeing them

run out!

Mark

[Guest guest]

Also, at least with Quest Diagnostics, you need to specifically

request the " sensitive assay " for estradiol, other wise it won't

tell you any specifics.

> Hi,

>

> Just thought I'd share how it pays to know what you're doing

> when you're going for a lab test.

>

> I'd previously had trouble getting an estradiol test because the

> lab had thought that meant total estrogen. So the doctor issued

> me another lab slip with two words: " test estradiol " . Sure

> enough, the test came back with a total estrogen level, but no E2

> measure. So when doc ordered more work last Thursday, I

> asked him to add " + E2 " after " estrogen " .

>

> Saturday morning I grabbed the lab order slip. I checked for a

> diagnosis code, but my doctor had forgotten to include that. I

> knew labs won't do tests without it (insurance issues). I checked

> my notes, then wrote " Dx 257.8 " on the slip (that stands for

> " Other testicular dysfunction " .)

>

> I ended up back at LabCorp (other local labs were closed

> Saturday). I was fortunate that the guy who wrote up the

> paperwork was new, and knew what he didn't know. I was also

> lucky that he couldn't read my doc's writing, so he asked me to

> help translate. The conversation went like this:

>

> Him: " It says to test T. What's that? "

> Me: " Testosterone. "

> Him: " And this word, f... r...e? "

> Me: " That's 'free' , and the T that follows it stands for

> testosterone. "

> (At this point he consulted a thick lab handbook, looked up

> " testosterone, free " , found a code number, and sure enough,

> when he entered that number into the computer, it returned the

> words " testosterone, free " .) then,

> Him: " ...and this next word is 'estrogen'. "

> Me: " Yes, the doctor wants that tested. And look at the the '+E2'

> that follows. That means he also wants estradiol tested, and

> wants the lab report to include the estradiol level "

> Him: (Inquisitive look)

> Me: We bring that up because prior lab requests for estradiol

> levels have not resulted in estradiol levels.

> Him: " I don't understand why that would happen... oh, I suppose

> it could have been a lab error... " (followed by more consultation

> with the thick lab handbook, until he found a number that

> returned " estradiol " on the computer.)

> (I should mention that by this point we were both laughing pretty

> hard. Others in the waiting room were giving us puzzled looks.)

> Him: " And what's this last thing? "

> Me: " SHBG. "

> Him: " No, that second letter looks like an 'M'. "

> Me: " Trust me, that's an 'H', as in 'hormone', as in 'Sex Hormone

> Binding Globulin'. "

> Him (grinning): " That last letter really looks like an '8'. "

> Me: " No, it's a 'G', as in 'Globulin'. "

> (The waiting room audience had their mouths open. At least one

> person left.)

>

> He then printed out the order for me to review. Everything

> seemed to be correct. (I wonder how the final lab report will

> read?)

>

> I'm glad I didn't get someone who " knew what they were doing " . I

> wish some of my doctors had been as conscientious about

> getting things right.

>

> Bruce

[Guest guest]

I wanted to try Quest, but they closed at 10AM Saturday (I got

there at 10:10). I poked my head in anyway. The guy seemed like

he did't like his work, the place looked a little grungy, and I don't

think I'll be back.

Bruce

> > > Hi,

> > >

> > > Just thought I'd share how it pays to know what you're

doing

> > > when you're going for a lab test.

> > >

> > > I'd previously had trouble getting an estradiol test because

the

> > > lab had thought that meant total estrogen. So the doctor

issued

> > > me another lab slip with two words: " test estradiol " . Sure

> > > enough, the test came back with a total estrogen level, but

no E2

> > > measure. So when doc ordered more work last Thursday, I

> > > asked him to add " + E2 " after " estrogen " .

> > >

> > > Saturday morning I grabbed the lab order slip. I checked for

a

> > > diagnosis code, but my doctor had forgotten to include that.

I

> > > knew labs won't do tests without it (insurance issues). I

checked

> > > my notes, then wrote " Dx 257.8 " on the slip (that stands for

> > > " Other testicular dysfunction " .)

> > >

> > > I ended up back at LabCorp (other local labs were closed

> > > Saturday). I was fortunate that the guy who wrote up the

> > > paperwork was new, and knew what he didn't know. I was

also

> > > lucky that he couldn't read my doc's writing, so he asked

me to

> > > help translate. The conversation went like this:

> > >

> > > Him: " It says to test T. What's that? "

> > > Me: " Testosterone. "

> > > Him: " And this word, f... r...e? "

> > > Me: " That's 'free' , and the T that follows it stands for

> > > testosterone. "

> > > (At this point he consulted a thick lab handbook, looked up

> > > " testosterone, free " , found a code number, and sure

enough,

> > > when he entered that number into the computer, it returned

the

> > > words " testosterone, free " .) then,

> > > Him: " ...and this next word is 'estrogen'. "

> > > Me: " Yes, the doctor wants that tested. And look at the the

'+E2'

> > > that follows. That means he also wants estradiol tested,

and

> > > wants the lab report to include the estradiol level "

> > > Him: (Inquisitive look)

> > > Me: We bring that up because prior lab requests for

estradiol

> > > levels have not resulted in estradiol levels.

> > > Him: " I don't understand why that would happen... oh, I

suppose

> > > it could have been a lab error... " (followed by more

consultation

> > > with the thick lab handbook, until he found a number that

> > > returned " estradiol " on the computer.)

> > > (I should mention that by this point we were both laughing

pretty

> > > hard. Others in the waiting room were giving us puzzled

looks.)

> > > Him: " And what's this last thing? "

> > > Me: " SHBG. "

> > > Him: " No, that second letter looks like an 'M'. "

> > > Me: " Trust me, that's an 'H', as in 'hormone', as in 'Sex

Hormone

> > > Binding Globulin'. "

> > > Him (grinning): " That last letter really looks like an '8'. "

> > > Me: " No, it's a 'G', as in 'Globulin'. "

> > > (The waiting room audience had their mouths open. At

least one

> > > person left.)

> > >

> > > He then printed out the order for me to review. Everything

> > > seemed to be correct. (I wonder how the final lab report will

> > > read?)

> > >

> > > I'm glad I didn't get someone who " knew what they were

doing " . I

> > > wish some of my doctors had been as conscientious about

> > > getting things right.

> > >

> > > Bruce