All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
A surprising number of blood tests have to be repeated for reasons that were entirely avoidable. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
Cholesterol and glucose tests often need a fast of eight to twelve hours. Water is fine and usually encouraged; coffee, juice and breakfast are not. Ask when the form is written rather than working it out on the morning.
“Do I need to fast for any of these?”Being well hydrated makes veins far easier to find, which makes the whole thing quicker and considerably less uncomfortable. Water does not break a fast.
“I'll make sure I'm well hydrated.”Certain hormone tests depend on the time of day or the point in a menstrual cycle. Some medication levels must be taken just before the next dose. Getting the timing wrong means doing it again.
“Is there a particular time I should have this done?”If your GP expects the result to need discussing, book the appointment at the same visit. It is easily cancelled, and it beats ringing for a booking in the same week as everyone else.
“Should I book a follow-up now?”Open any of these for what it involves. In every case the result comes back to the clinic and is reviewed by a doctor before anyone contacts you.
Blood tests
What happens A sample is taken here and sent to the laboratory. Which tests are on the form depends entirely on the question your GP is trying to answer — there is no such thing as a standard set.
Full blood count, iron studies, kidney and liver function, thyroid, cholesterol, blood sugar, vitamin D, inflammatory markers.
Reference ranges are a guide rather than a verdict. Plenty of results sit slightly outside the range and mean nothing at all, which is why they are interpreted in the context of you rather than read off a page.
Monitoring
What happens Where you have an ongoing condition or take a medicine that needs watching, tests happen at set intervals so problems are caught before they cause symptoms.
Diabetes, kidney disease, thyroid conditions, and medicines such as methotrexate, lithium, warfarin and some blood pressure tablets all have their own schedules.
Your GP will order the tests ahead of your review appointment so the results are in front of you both, rather than arriving a week after the conversation.
Screening
What happens Tests done because of your age or your risk rather than because anything is wrong — cardiovascular risk, diabetes risk, and the national screening programs.
Which screening is worth doing depends on your age, your family history and your own risk factors. Your GP works out which national programs you are due for and what else is genuinely worthwhile.
More testing is not automatically better. Tests done without a reason turn up borderline results that lead to more tests, and that has costs of its own.
Other samples
What happens Urine samples, wound and throat swabs, self-collected swabs for sexually transmitted infections, and stool samples. Most are collected here or taken home with instructions.
Urine tests for infection are among the most common, and how the sample is collected genuinely affects the result — you will be told how.
Self-collected swabs are available for several tests and mean no examination at all for most people.
Results
What happens Every result is reviewed by a doctor when it arrives. Anything urgent is phoned through to you straight away. Everything else means being contacted and asked to book.
Reception are not permitted to give clinical results over the phone. That is a safeguard rather than obstruction — a number without explanation is how people are frightened by nothing.
If the window your GP gave you has passed and you have heard nothing, ring and ask. No news is not automatically good news.
Three things account for almost every blood test that has to be repeated. Tap a card.
Not every test needs it, and guessing wrong costs you a second trip.
Small things that make the collection quicker and more comfortable.
Bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card on weekdays. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception.
Where your test is up to, at any point in the process. Tap any card.
Written during your appointment. Ask what is being tested and why — it makes the result far easier to understand when it comes.
Flip backFasting if needed, water regardless, and the right time of day for anything that is timed.
Flip backA tourniquet, a sterile needle, and usually under a minute. Say if you have fainted before and you can lie down for it.
Flip backSamples are labelled and sent the same day. Some tests are done locally, others go to a specialised laboratory.
Flip backMost common tests come back within a few days. Some specialised ones take two or three weeks. Ask which applies to yours.
Flip backEvery result is placed in front of a doctor, who decides whether it needs nothing, a phone call, or an appointment.
Flip backUrgent results are phoned through straight away. Everything else means a message asking you to book.
Flip backWhat was tested, what it showed, what it means for you, and whether anything needs repeating. Ask for a copy if you want one.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print it. Several of these genuinely change how or when the test should be done.
The doctor who ordered the test knows what question it was answering, so book results with them where you can.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Where a result needs a specialist, your GP will refer you and send the results with the referral so nothing is repeated unnecessarily.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
The appointment where they are ordered is bulk billed on weekdays with a valid Medicare card, and most pathology is bulk billed by the laboratory. A small number of tests are not covered by Medicare, and the laboratory will tell you before they take the sample.
For some tests, typically eight to twelve hours — cholesterol and fasting glucose are the common ones. Water is fine and helps. Ask when the form is written rather than working it out on the morning.
Collection is available on site, so there is no second trip. You can also take the form to any pathology collection centre if that suits you better.
Most common tests come back within a few days. Specialised tests can take two or three weeks. Ask at the time so you know the realistic window.
Every result is reviewed by a doctor when it arrives. Anything urgent is phoned through straight away. Otherwise you will be contacted and asked to book an appointment to go through it.
Reception are not permitted to give clinical results. It is a safeguard rather than obstruction — a number without explanation is how people are frightened by nothing, or reassured by something that needed attention.
Not necessarily. Reference ranges are set so that a proportion of perfectly healthy people fall outside them. Your GP interprets the number in the context of you, your symptoms and your other results.
You can ask, and your GP will talk it through. Some tests are genuinely useful and some produce misleading results when done without a reason — expect an honest conversation rather than an automatic yes or no.
Yes. Ask your GP at the appointment or ask reception. Many pathology providers also offer access through their own app.
Say so when you arrive. You can lie down, look away, have someone with you, and the collector can use a smaller needle. It is a very common thing to find difficult and nobody will make anything of it.
One question before you leave the room makes the result far easier to understand when it arrives — and it is the question almost nobody asks.
4Cyte Pathology collects in the same building, so most blood tests are done before you leave, and results come straight back to your GP. Ask whether your test needs fasting when it is ordered.
The clinic is inside Salamander Bay Shopping Centre at Shop 5, 2 Town Centre Circuit, with free parking, and is a short drive from Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
From the health journal
