quote:

Originally posted by Nismo:
I also had my blood drawn for a panel a couple days ago. They took about 4 vials out. Its pretty much healed the next day, just a slight bruise and a red dot.

Is she the only phlebotomist there?

My doc has a full blood exam for me once a year. Most times I don't even feel the "stick" That you lady is excellence personified!!

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
I'm getting a CT scan next week for pain from a mesh in a while back. Today I had to get bloodwork before the scan. The tech put the needle through the vein. Swollen, stings and is black and blue within the hour. I put ice on it and the swelling went down. She acted like this happens all the time. Our insurance makes us use this lab so I'm stuck going there.

Can you find a different lab to do the work? Or at least have a choice of lab techs?

Our insurance requires we use Labcorp. I have been using them for quite a while with no issues. I have never seen this person there before. Usually a family friend that works at this location takes care of me. This time she was not present. Next time I will not let this person do it. What aggravates me is that if she took her time this would not have happened.

While in the military, my wife was having blood drawn at the Naval hospital in Bremerton.

This male phlebotomist came in to get a sample and missed the vein on her right side.
He then tried the left arm and went through the vein.
As he attempted to go back to the right side, I looked at him and said (very firmly) "if you touch my wife again, you'll find that needle will be so far up your ass, you won't be able to miss shit".

He called security, and a doctor came in to see what the problem was. That doctor took a look at my wife's arms, dressed down the phlebotomy tech and sent the security away. He then took my wife's blood without an issue and we continued the visit.

My wife's arms looked like hell for 4 days, and she's still very nervous getting blood drawn to this day.

quote:

He called security, and a doctor came in to see what the problem was. That doctor took a look at my wife's arms, dressed down the phlebotomy tech and sent the security away. He then took my wife's blood without an issue and we continued the visit.

^^^^^^^
You got lucky. Most docs have not drawn blood in years. The real pro is the nurse with the ultrasound. They can see the vein clearly.

I have blood drawn at least twice a year. I must have found the right place, Quest Diagnostics. I have seen several different phlebotomists. No problem with any of them. Feels like just a pin prick. They always get it right on the first try. I had blood drawn 3 days ago. No black and blue mark at all. I can barely even see the tiny mark where in was done.

 
There is one phlebotomist at our local hospital (where I get all my lab work done) that is just aces. She gets it right first stick, every time, and veins are not always prominent. If she's busy, I'll wait for her.
 
Worst is a fasting blood sugar. Nothing by mouth after midnight, and being dehydrated makes the veins very hard to find.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
Worst is a fasting blood sugar. Nothing by mouth after midnight, and being dehydrated makes the veins very hard to find.

I have asked the doc who orders my blood work and was always told that when fasting for blood work it is OK to drink water.

quote:

Our insurance requires we use Labcorp.

There's the problem.

I used them ONE time. They couldn't draw enough blood, wanted me to pay for the testing because they screwed up the Insurance Coding and would not correct the paperwork mess.

They wanted me to sign a waiver in case Labcorp screws up the Insurance papers.

I told them to piss off.

 
I you are on Medicare, be very aware if you are asked to sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN). It generally means Medicare will not cover that procedure.
 
I once got an ABN spit out of the computer for a Vitamin E blood test. I asked the lab person to call the nurse and get it coded correctly, meaning if you are being treated for a Vitamin E deficiency, it is covered (different code).
 
Another is a "lipid panel" blood test. Medicare will pay for one, for screening purposes, only once every 5 years. Unless you are being treated for high cholesterol or some other related lipid issue. Otherwise, you'll get an ABN.
 
Medicare pays for a PSA test one once a year (I think). But if you've had prostrate cancer (which I have had), it is a different code. My urologist told me he could order one a day with that code.

Your physician has a certain responsibility to tell you if a procedure is not covered, in addtion to having you sign an ABN. Anytime you receive a bill it is your responsiblity to make sure things are coded correctly. You can thank CMS and the insurance companies for that mess. Mistakes are common and can be costly for the patient.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

Medicare pays for a PSA test one once a year (I think). But if you've had prostrate cancer (which I have had), it is a different code. My urologist told me he could order one a day with that code.

Re your first point, I know that there is a limit, not sure whether it is once a year.

Second point, yes, you are correct. I too, am a prostate cancer patient. I was told by an admin person in the doctor's office, incorrectly, that I was not eligible for a Medicare PSA test because not enough time had lapsed since the previous one. The doctor who happened to be there and overheard this mis-information intervened and said, "Nonsense. Mr. V-Tail has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and we can do a PSA screening as often as we want to."

I have Medicare for hospital coverage only. My wife has medical coverage at work and we have zero copay for any doctor or lab visits. I have not had problems finding a doctor's under our plan, but not having a choice of lab's is not ideal.

Try not starting the conversations with "put on a little weight there, didn't we?"

I was getting prepped for a kidney procedure. The nurse was inserting a port in my left arm. I heard her say “whoops” and looked down, blood was going everywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

He called security, and a doctor came in to see what the problem was. That doctor took a look at my wife's arms, dressed down the phlebotomy tech and sent the security away. He then took my wife's blood without an issue and we continued the visit.

^^^^^^^
You got lucky. Most docs have not drawn blood in years. The real pro is the nurse with the ultrasound. They can see the vein clearly.

I did a short stint in NICU (during my ER orientation waaaay back in 1993) and learned a great technique to find veins (works great on kids). Shine a very strong light source - LED (I used my Surefire) through (or on) the patient's arm. This veins will show up as dark lines of varying thickness. Also they are now using an infrared light source for the same thing.

 
Besides the phlebotomist I mentioned at our hospital's lab who is great, the few times I've had surgery and the nurse had a hard time finding a vein, they called "the expert" who was the nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist.

Trust me. There are far worse things than a bruise whe a blood draw “doesn’t go well.” Count your blessings.

When I had surgery to repair a broken elbow, I woke to a girl who had found the vein in my index finger drawing blood with a minuscule needle. She was very good obviously.

As others have intimated, it doesn't matter where you go - it matters who sticks you.

Mrs.BurtonRW has never considered herself strong in the art of finding a vein. Spent 13 years in a hospital running middle of the pack in that particular skill, she was better than many, but they had a full compliment of IV techs and lab phlebotomists for the really tricky ones.

Then she got out of the hospital game and works in an urgent care center. When she was being interviewed, she was very up front about venipuncture being her weakest skill. Turns out she's a freaking rock star there. She's probably better than she thought she was all along, but there you have it.

You just never know.

-Rob

I get bloodwork 4 to 6 times per year.

As long as it's 3 viles or less then I have them draw it out of the veins on top of my hand. Techs are 100% successful and for some reason it doesn't hurt (techs always tell me I'm weird).

My elbow is hit or miss and only let them use it if it's 4 or more viles. Apparently, it looks like a piece of meat that needs injecting with brine or marinade (i.e. one entrance and then multiple random stabs).

I quit donating blood because they insist on using students who think nothing of pushing through a vein, 6 to 8 random jabs, and/or making light of their incompetence. If blood was as critical as they claim then they'd use pros.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.