Posts by slywolf45

Word on the street is they’re currently tweaking some server settings, so it’s possible those options have just gone MIA for a bit.
We can all only hope it's a temporary glitch, right?😁

Everyone just needs to take a beat, breathe, and maybe grab a drink.🙂

You received a warning because you completely ignored the moderator alerts and decided to start an argument, and since your thread was basically just two sentences long, it’s been closed.
Just like Jason Morgan told you, and like I mentioned in my DM, it might be a good idea to actually sit down and read the rules for once.

We’ve had the option to order online here in the States for years now. Yet, there’s still a massive crowd of people who simply refuse to use it. I suppose some folks just prefer sitting around in the waiting room, passing the time by gossiping with the elderly ladies there... though I can't quite wrap my head around any other reason for it.

melloworca6 said:If that’s the case, then fine by me. 🙂

The only thing I don't get is why general practitioners haven't organized their schedules better. Like, why not set aside 8:00 to 9:00 AM just for blood draws? They could block off appointments during that window unless it's an actual emergency. 🤷 That would solve two problems at once: it cuts down on the crowds, and it stops nurses from having to juggle a hundred different tasks at the exact same time.

Honestly, I've been losing my mind for two days straight because I keep calling the clinic and nobody picks up the phone. I swear, these digital prescriptions are such a joke when I end up having to drive all the way down there in person just to tell them I need my script.

It's because Americans are notoriously difficult to train when it comes to changing old habits. They decide they absolutely have to be in the doctor's office by 7:30 sharp because they're rushing to catch a bus, hit the bank, make a lunch date, or catch a train, and you practically have to be psychic to predict their arrival. They demand to be seen IMMEDIATELY. 🙄

By the way, at our clinic, we do blood work from 7:30 to 9:00 (though I usually start even earlier), and the lab tech is already sweeping in to collect samples by 8:15. It's a total circus.

Scott Allen10 said:Look, I’m not saying I’m 100% right—honestly, I might be totally off base here—but I figured I’d jump back into the conversation because, from where I'm sitting, the answer is... well... it's pretty multi-layered. I kind of cringed a little thinking about those laboratory loopholes, but here’s my take:

- Local clinic labs can really only run the specific tests they have contracts for under Medicare (primary care). We're talking basic stuff like a CBC, standard biochemistry, some clotting factors, and things like that which are covered by basic insurance. There might be a few extras where you have to chip in a small co-pay, like a CRP or a lipid panel. Basically, the Social Security Administration covers the basics plus a few extras if you pay the difference. So, you swing by your doctor because you've got a cough and a fever, they order a CBC and a CRP, you get the results the same day, and everything stays within the realm of primary care.
- Depending on their equipment, those same clinics could definitely run more advanced tests, but you'd likely be footing the full bill for those. It would go something like this: you show up feeling under the weather, the doctor says, "Okay, let's do a CBC and a CRP... we probably should check your PCT too, but you'd usually need to head to a hospital for that. However, if you want our lab to do it right now, you'll have to pay out of pocket at the full rate."
- A clinic lab might be capable of handling complex testing, but since those aren't part of their official contract with the Social Security Administration, the government isn't picking up the tab, so you're paying the whole thing.

- Now, a big hospital lab generally won't bother with that basic stuff mentioned above. They won't, mainly because there's no way for them to bill for it if the patient isn't actually an inpatient or seeing a specialist there—they just showed up with a referral for basic bloodwork. Plus, as far as I know, most primary care software doesn't even allow a family doctor to send a referral for basic routine labs directly to a hospital lab anyway.
- On the flip side, a hospital lab will happily draw blood for any tests requested via an internal referral by a specialist working within the hospital. For instance, if someone goes in to see an internist and that specialist orders certain tests as part of the exam—doesn't matter if it's basic or advanced—they can do it all.
- Hospital labs also handle anything covered by the Social Security Administration for tertiary care that a primary doctor requests through a specialist referral. So, if a specialist tells you to get some tumor markers or immunology tests done before your next follow-up, you get that referral from your doctor, go to the hospital lab, and they run everything you need... though you might end up with a bit of a co-pay.

Man, look at these sentences... I can barely even make sense of what I'm trying to say myself...😍...

I’m not quite following either. Is this supposed to be some kind of guide?😁

melloworca6 said:You missed my point entirely. 🙂

Up until now, there were basically two places to get blood drawn—either at the local community health center (for stuff like CBCs, electrolytes, glucose, urine tests, etc.) or at the hospital (for everything else that doesn't fall under that basic category).

What I'm actually asking is whether I have a choice now. Can I decide to go to the main community health center to get it done, or am I strictly forced to go through my own primary care doctor? I remember hearing some talk about having options—like choosing between the general practice clinic or the place where we used to go.

As for the hospital, I assume that hasn't changed and people still go there for those specific tests.

I don't really follow how that system works; I live out in the middle of nowhere.😁
Around here, we just have one single community clinic with an on-site lab. (And, naturally, the local hospital with its own biochemistry lab and transfusion center.)

But now, you don't even go to that clinic lab anymore—you just do it through your primary doctor. End of story.😉

I haven't the slightest clue how they handle this in New York City. 🤷

Matthew Taylor17 said:You missed my point entirely—I was saying they could have just implemented that specific part without all this extra nonsense involving the ambulatory extraction process. 😉
In our local hospitals, they still deal with paper referrals, whereas at the community clinics, everything is fully digitized...

Yeah, it's the same deal where I am.

Matthew Taylor17 said:The obvious fix would have been to allow doctors to electronically transmit orders directly to the labs so we could handle the fulfillment—but this specific approach to blood collection is fundamentally flawed... though, I suppose it’ll likely just fail like everything else does lately.😉

We’ve actually had this system running smoothly for months now. A doctor just sends an electronic referral over to the lab, and by around 2:00 PM that same day, the digital results are already sitting in our inbox. It’s incredibly efficient. 😉

Matthew Taylor17 said:it seems it varies by location... honestly, this whole thing is absurd and should be scrapped entirely!! I won't even begin to describe how much bacteria can grow in urine samples sitting out on a windowsill...
I imagine your shifts must be a nightmare, especially when someone decides they can't make a 10:00 AM appointment and insists on being seen at 8:00 AM instead...
There's simply no way this works better than doing everything in the lab! At our clinic, we have two people drawing blood, two people transporting the samples and running the centrifuge, one dedicated to urine samples... and the rest of the crew manages the analyzers!
But really, if they were going to force this change through, they could have at least ensured the necessary infrastructure was actually in place... ☕

Exactly my point.
They've squeezed us from every angle, and eventually, the patients are going to feel the fallout. We're looking at wait times stretching to two weeks or more just to get a simple blood test.
Per our current regulations, we have to cover two afternoon shifts where blood draws aren't even an option, and within the remaining three days, there simply isn't enough bandwidth to see as many patients as the labs used to handle effortlessly.

Kudos to Milinović. 👋

melloworca6 said:Did I get this right? Can you still get bloodwork done at the main community health centers? Or are you strictly forced to go through your primary care physician now?

Typically, you'd just go through your primary care doctor. Unless there’s some absolute emergency after hours, in which case we send everything down to the main diagnostic lab.

I pull blood three days a week, and I’m consistently seeing way more than ten patients per shift.
It’s incredibly clumsy, too, mostly because I lack any decent workspace. To borrow a phrase from someone on the first page of this thread: I’m basically working right next to my computer, buried under a mountain of paperwork. Not to mention, I have absolutely nowhere to store the urine samples they bring in; I just end up keeping them in a box on the windowsill until someone from the lab finally wanders over to pick them up.🙄
And honestly, don't even get me started on the sheer volume of extra work that comes with phlebotomy. None of the patients seem to care that we're essentially multitasking our entire job during those draws.

@Matthew Taylor17: It’s pretty obvious that things aren't uniform across all labs. At our facility, it's a total mess—the lab techs just sit around waiting for us to finish drawing blood, then they wander around like zombies to lug the samples back to the lab. I was chatting with one of our techs the other day, and she mentioned that nobody on their team is happy with how these new protocols are playing out.

But look, this isn't the first time they've tried to push this kind of nonsense. Every single time they implement something this half-baked, it eventually falls apart.

Ashley Price82 said:Alright then, am I about to get banned or what?

Djizs, you must be incredibly bored, aren't you?😁

briskmason said:Why don't you find a garden to water or some flowers to weed instead of being such a bore on this forum?

Sure, I'll go find a yard to tend to just for you, but I think I'll pass. 😬

Oh, right... by the way: Go Robert Hall7! 🎉

briskmason said:There are days 😬

Wait a second—are you acting as some sort of official spokesperson here, or are you just bored enough to be posting this kind of 😉
?

Bored.🤷

Dennis Flores77 said:Maybe you'll finally get some recognition once it hits 23,000. 😁

Well, I’ve spent my entire life being misunderstood. 😳

And at this rate, we’ll be hitting 24,000 before anyone catches on, if you ask me.🙂 😬

briskmason said:I couldn't care less about the drama. 😁

Well... clearly I was misunderstood. 😬

So, I guess we're allowed to criticize the mods now.

And why shouldn't we be? This isn't just a dedicated grievance forum.😉

briskmason said:Once I hit 23,000 posts, I’m sure someone will notice me then.

Ouch. That one actually stung a little.😢 😁

A quick glance at the Wall Street Journal should be enough to prove the point.😉

briskmason said:Besides, I get the impression there's an unwritten rule on this forum against starting threads about other members. If that's the case, this whole discussion is pretty much moot—unless, of course, those rules don't apply when the moderators decide to pat themselves on the back.

It seems like someone is always popping up with a thread calling out a specific moderator. Have you really never noticed that happening?🤔

🤣

Nina, you have to see this—the weather is absolutely perfect for hitting the pool... 😍

Emily Kim67 said:there was also some mention about how trolling and chat banter are actually encouraged... or something along those lines.😬

🤣
That was never mentioned anywhere, Emily—you might want to go see an eye doctor soon.😁

And those rules have been sitting right there for years(!), and they never bothered anyone.

The reality is that things have been added or tweaked constantly over the years, though it’s hard to notice because, shockingly, very few people actually bother reading the fine print. 😬 😉

Look, even if I am just your average blonde girl now, 🥳 I felt compelled to weigh in.😁

Good grief, here we go again... 😲
It looks like everyone is back to hunting down Durica once more! 🙂 😁