This is an uncommon complaint we get when someone wants their labs drawn before they come in for a physical.  This causes surprising frustration and takes time to explain because there are many reasons not to do it, and no good reason to do it.  

1. Routine physical labs will depend on the individuals health and physical findings.

2. Routine labs will depend on the medications and supplements you may be taking

   1. You may have medications from another provider or specialist,

   2. You may be taking new vitamin supplements that we are not yet aware of,

   3. You may have been to an urgent care or ER since we last saw you and not one let us know.

3. Lab tests needed will depend on family history of diseases, diabetes, cancer risks, heart disease...

4. There is no one template for labs for a physical.

5. If we draw just the basics and need additional labs, we cannot do that without

   1. Exam to code the visit and need for additional labs.

   2. We may not have the proper tubes for add on labs and will need to stick again.

6. Pre-visit labs may not be covered by insurance without proper coding.

7. Pre-visit labs may not be covered by insurance at all, something we check when you come in for

   your physical. Some insurance companies do not cover physicals.

8. Some insurance companies requires specific lab companies to process in order to be covered,

   which we review at the physical when we collect the latest insurance card information.

9. Pre-visit labs may not be covered without a visit and exam noting the indications for the labs.

10. Pre-visit labs may be done and then the patient never comes to their appointment to review

    1. Now we have to chase after the person to find out why.

    2. We are held responsible for results and may not have any way of contacting you.

    3. Legally this places us at increased risk fo malpractice.

11. There is no reason to do pre-visit labs before a physical when they can be done at the physical.

12. There is no guarantee the lab results will be back by the time of the physical anyway.

13. There is no follow up appointment to review results

    1. We call lab results to discuss on the phone when ready

    2. We post results to the portal so you have a copy with all of our notes

14. Iʼll take the grumbling complaints ahead of time any day instead of the massive complaints after the

    fact when people get lab bills and demand action on something I have no control over which waspointless to do in the first place.

So, we do it the proper way.

1. We check your insurance coverage the best we can, and you should know ahead of time if wellness

   visits are covered.

2. You sign a consent to have a physical exam and we update your contact information so we can

   reach you with results.

3. We ask questions about your health to build a medical history and determine risks

4. We then provide a comprehensive examination to determine any additional risks or problems.

5. Then we discuss the labs needed and order the tests, providing insurance coding to cover the tests

   the best we know how - this does not always match medical sense with insurance “logic”.

6. Then the lab draws the proper tubes for the testing you require and send to the proper lab

7. We review the results and any additional testing or recommendations are discussed with you.

PDF handout here