Can Doctors charge for routine Blood Tests ??

Garp242

Can Doctors charge for routine Blood Tests ??

Recently a notice went up in my doctors waiting room, stating that in future there will be a charge for Blood Tests - "Private Patients - €20, Medical Card Holders - €15"... In the past, there was no charge for this service.

But the HSE website states that ... "Routine blood tests where the service is part of the investigation and necessary treatment of your symptoms or condition" ... are free of charge.

So ... Are Doctors allowed to charge for this service ??

homer911

well i paid E25 recently, cant imagine it being free in a GP surgery

my3cents

I'll check with my neighbor that works in one of the test labs but afaik the actual testing has always been free, doctors can however charge for their time spent taking the samples and then interpreting the results.

njs030

I think they can charge if you request it but if it's blood tests that are needed for investigation or part of an ongoing illness then its free.
It's probably to stop people demanding blood tests every 5 minutes.

I can't imagine them charging patients with actual illnesses that need regular blood tests.

jimmycrackcorm

It would be worth querying the charge work the doctor if you're paying 40 - 50 already, why you have top pay extra when the HSE aren't charging for the actual testing.

BAAA RAM EWE

notjustsweet wrote: »

I think they can charge if you request it but if it's blood tests that are needed for investigation or part of an ongoing illness then its free.
It's probably to stop people demanding blood tests every 5 minutes.

I can't imagine them charging patients with actual illnesses that need regular blood tests.

This^^

Alot on Med Cards develop phantom illnesses and have paths wore into their GPs looking for tests for something they read on facebook.

GhostyMcGhost

Garp242 wrote: »

Can Doctors charge for routine Blood Tests ??

Recently a notice went up in my doctors waiting room, stating that in future there will be a charge for Blood Tests - "Private Patients - €20, Medical Card Holders - €15"... In the past, there was no charge for this service.

But the HSE website states that ... "Routine blood tests where the service is part of the investigation and necessary treatment of your symptoms or condition" ... are free of charge.

So ... Are Doctors allowed to charge for this service ??

??? It'd always been €80 for bloods for me for as long as I remember

€60 doctor
€20 bloods

Taking medication that requires blood tests about 3-4 times a year

r93kaey5p2izun

My GP charges but you have the option to go to a hospital blood test clinic for free with note.

my3cents

BAAA RAM EWE wrote: »

This^^

Alot on Med Cards develop phantom illnesses and have paths wore into their GPs looking for tests for something they read on facebook.

A lot of GP's abuse the system anyway by sending blood tests off without doing any diagnosis themselves first. My doctor gets upset if he can't find a recent set of blood tests (done with in the last year) on the system whenever I see him and insists I have "bloods" as they call it done. Total waste of every ones time and the states money.

Stheno

Emma Mysterious Visitor wrote: »

My GP charges but you have the option to go to a hospital blood test clinic for free with note.

Same here

BAAA RAM EWE

GhostyMcGhost wrote: »

??? It'd always been €80 for bloods for me for as long as I remember

€60 doctor
€20 bloods

Taking medication that requires blood tests about 3-4 times a year

He must love seeing you come in.

LynnGrace

Have always had to pay at my surgery.

martingriff

If I ever got my bloods done once a year I have been charged for the appointment which I suppose included getting them done. I would not have thought it be free. Now it was cheaper than going into my doctor when sick.

As other have said I would assume the charge is for if you came is just for bloods. Is the charge just for that I would be asking. Also I be asking is it 20/15 for everything or would x be included for booking an appointment.

tayto lover

45 euro for doctor.
20 euro for blood test.

A feckin rip-off.

Toots

AFAIK if you go to your local hospital it's free, but if you go to your GP then you have to pay.

Edgarfrndly

I was with my previous GP for over ten years on my medical card and never had to pay for blood tests. But I recently moved to a new surgery as my old GP retired, and the new surgery charges 10 euro for blood tests.

Gooser14

According to the following extract from Citizens Information blood tests should be free for Medical Card Holders:

"Services provided by GPs under the General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme
The GP's contract with the HSE specifies the range of services that the doctor must provide for medical card holders. Broadly speaking, these services must be provided at the same level and on the same basis as services to the GP's private patients. This means that, for example, surgery times must be the same for all patients, access to home visits must be the same, etc.

Among the services that GPs provide for medical card holders are:

Consultation services at the GP's surgery or at your home as appropriate.
Proper and necessary treatment of a kind normally undertaken by a general practitioner; this is a matter of individual medical judgement but it also includes services such as immunisation and vaccination for children.
Prescriptions for drugs, medicines and appliances as required. In some cases, GPs dispense drugs and medicines.
Blood tests to diagnose or monitor a condition.
There are certain services that GPs are not obliged to provide free of charge, for example, eye tests for a driving licence or reports for life assurance. You may also be charged for medical certificates for absence from work. If you need a medical report to apply for a social welfare payment, the Department of Social Protection may cover the fee."

AndrewJRenko

GhostyMcGhost wrote: »

??? It'd always been €80 for bloods for me for as long as I remember

€60 doctor
€20 bloods

Taking medication that requires blood tests about 3-4 times a year

THat''s huge money. It might well be worth asking for a referral to your local hospital. My GP sends me to St Vincents every 2 or 3 years. He plans ahead, so he'll give me a referral form that will work 11 months ahead. He'll have the test results when I go back to him in 12 months time.

St Vincents are very efficient. You book your slot online, and you will be in and out in 5-10 minutes.

coylemj

Emma Mysterious Visitor wrote: »

My GP charges but you have the option to go to a hospital blood test clinic for free with note.

Free is now the only option I have. I get an annual blood test to track an indicator that I need to keep an eye on, I don't need a GP consultation.

My GP practice used to charge €20, the nurse normally took the sample but the practice doesn't do it anymore. What I do now is phone and tell them which test(s) I want, they fill out the form with the appropriate boxes ticked and I call to collect it. It's a form attached to a plastic bag which will hold the sample bottle(s).

I then make an appointment with either St. Vincents (web app) or St. Michaels (phone) and bring the form with me. The results are sent to my GP practice a few days later. I call to reception and they print it for me.

Hey! I said hey!

You have to pay at mine but you can go with a referral letter to the hospital to have it done free but you'd be waiting around a long time there usually

TerrorFirmer

In the past I've paid at my GP for blood tests that I requested but more recently when I needed blood tests due as part of an ongoing condition it didn't cost extra.

Tom Mann Centuria

My GP doesn't charge for blood tests, and he is never shy about taking bloods either. He's very good generally though, like charging less for kids, less for follow up visits that he asks for etc.

dev100

I think you pay for the service of a doctor or nurse to do the blood test and the courier fees but you don't pay for the actual testing of the blood.

fussyonion

My GP charges €20 for blood tests but you can request a form which you can take to the hospital and get the bloods done there for free (Medical card holders).
I don't think it's unfair to charge if he's giving the option of having it done elsewere for free.

Cabaal

Never paid for bloods over the years

Xterminator

tayto lover wrote: »

45 euro for doctor.
20 euro for blood test.

A feckin rip-off.

mines is €65 & €20

your getting a bargain.

GhostyMcGhost

Xterminator wrote: »

mines is €65 & €20

your getting a bargain.

Mine's pretty much same

Toots

dev100 wrote: »

I think you pay for the service of a doctor or nurse to do the blood test and the courier fees but you don't pay for the actual testing of the blood.

Yeah, I remember before the Cervical Check scheme came in, smear tests for medical card holders were free, but there was a €10 fee to cover the cost of the courier and also the disposal of the equipment (or something like that). I think it's the same with the bloods.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

tayto lover wrote: »

45 euro for doctor.
20 euro for blood test.

A feckin rip-off.

Then pay an additional 5% taxes or get yourself some decent medical cover. Some people really want everything for nothing...

coylemj

Benson Elegant Variation wrote: »

Then pay an additional 5% taxes or get yourself some decent medical cover. Some people really want everything for nothing...

That poster is already paying for the blood tests in his/her taxes. Anything beyond a nominal charge (for the doctor or nurse's time) of €20 is a rip-off because the actual blood tests don't cost the GP anything.

Charging the price of a full GP consultation plus €20 on top for the test is a monumental rip-off.

Xterminator

my GP employs a nurse who does the bloods. i don't think she is a volunteer - so IMO a change is understandable.

AndrewJRenko

Toots wrote: »

Yeah, I remember before the Cervical Check scheme came in, smear tests for medical card holders were free, but there was a €10 fee to cover the cost of the courier and also the disposal of the equipment (or something like that). I think it's the same with the bloods.

My GP tried to get my missus to bring her smear check to the post office to send it off to the lab. I had a fairly tough discussion with him afterwards. The CervicalCheck.ie folks confirmed that this shouldn't have happened - they pay the GP to provide the service. If the GP is not able or willing to provide the complete end-to-end service, he should come off the Cervical Check list.

Whiplashy

I have a medical card and up until last year my blood tests were free. Then GP started charging €20 for them. No sign up. No prior warning. Was told by the receptionist on my way out that I'd have to pay. I'm on long term medication that has a high chance of damaging my liver so I'm supposed to have bloods done every month, but I just can't afford to. Haven't had them checked at all this year.

AndrewJRenko

Whiplashy wrote: »

I have a medical card and up until last year my blood tests were free. Then GP started charging €20 for them. No sign up. No prior warning. Was told by the receptionist on my way out that I'd have to pay. I'm on long term medication that has a high chance of damaging my liver so I'm supposed to have bloods done every month, but I just can't afford to. Haven't had them checked at all this year.

Ask for a referral to your local hospital instead.

Whiplashy

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Ask for a referral to your local hospital instead.

It would still cost me about the same in petrol. The local hospital isn't so local. Hoping when I next see the consultant he might get the nurse to do them for me.

BAAA RAM EWE

Change your gp

Dingle_berry

HSE does fund public medical diagnostic labs to provide tests for free to GPS. That includes the request forms, sample collection material, reagents, instruments, staff, etc.
What the HSE doesn't pay for is the person taking the sample or interpreting the result. Most surgeries now have a practise nurse that takes blood samples and these charges cover the cost of employing them. In ireland a patient is not automatically entitled to their results either - a clinician must interpret them for the patient. So that's time the GP spends reviewing your chart even if it's a phone call to say everything's ok

dexter_morgan

Whiplashy wrote: »

I have a medical card and up until last year my blood tests were free. Then GP started charging €20 for them. No sign up. No prior warning. Was told by the receptionist on my way out that I'd have to pay. I'm on long term medication that has a high chance of damaging my liver so I'm supposed to have bloods done every month, but I just can't afford to. Haven't had them checked at all this year.

You really cant afford to have your bloods taken? You say there is a high chance of the medication damaging your liver and you go months without having your blood checked! That is just daft. If it was me I would just shave the spending a little somewhere else and take care of my health first.

Whiplashy

dexter_morgan wrote: »

You really cant afford to have your bloods taken? You say there is a high chance of the medication damaging your liver and you go months without having your blood checked! That is just daft. If it was me I would just shave the spending a little somewhere else and take care of my health first.

That's very easy to say, and I agree with you in theory. However at the moment I'm unable to work. The spending has already been shaved. The bills have to be paid. Food has to be put on the table. Car has to be kept on the road. Some months I have to pick and choose which medications I actually take depending on how much I can afford to pay out in prescription levy. There just isn't an extra €20 to spare at the end of the month.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Whiplashy wrote: »

It would still cost me about the same in petrol. The local hospital isn't so local. Hoping when I next see the consultant he might get the nurse to do them for me.

There's no way a trip to a hospital for bloods would cost you €20 in petrol. Even local hospitals that have had many services led to regional centres will do bloods.

Whiplashy

Whiplashy wrote: »

I have a medical card and up until last year my blood tests were free. Then GP started charging €20 for them. No sign up. No prior warning. Was told by the receptionist on my way out that I'd have to pay. I'm on long term medication that has a high chance of damaging my liver so I'm supposed to have bloods done every month, but I just can't afford to. Haven't had them checked at all this year.

Same here. My doc never charged. Ive been on medical card now for last few years, also with her.
Went for menopause blood test and she wanted 30 quid for it.

Im waiting on hospital appointment now instead.

Thoie

My last GP (who I only changed because I moved) had a relatively quiet practice, so he wouldn't have had bloods to go to a lab every day - because of that he needed to charge to get a courier to bring my blood to the lab - he couldn't let it sit around for a few days waiting to have enough to send a big batch. A previous practice I used attend always had large batches of bloods each day, so they usen't charge as the courier used just come at a certain time each day, and between all the patients it might have been 50p each.

The charge is usually for the courier, not the testing. The cost of drawing the blood and going through the results is usually included in consultation fee. As with others, my last GP would have waived the charge if I'd gone to the local phlebotomy clinic and had the blood taken there, or delivered the blood to the lab myself. I found it more convenient to have him do it, and pay him the €20, but there were other options.

Geuze

GhostyMcGhost wrote: »

??? It'd always been €80 for bloods for me for as long as I remember

€60 doctor
€20 bloods

50 + 10 in my GP, you bring it yourself to the hospital.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

the_syco

When I was in Ireland, my doc charged, but gave the option of me ringing him at a later date and getting the results over the phone, to save me coming in (and having to take time off work).

It was usually €55 for consultation, and €25 for bloods. So if I'm only going in for bloods, and nothing else, it's only €25, but if I'm going in to ask him questions, he'll charge €55 and do the bloods as part of that €55.

TBH, I'm paying for his time.

Thoie wrote: »

My last GP (who I only changed because I moved) had a relatively quiet practice, so he wouldn't have had bloods to go to a lab every day - because of that he needed to charge to get a courier to bring my blood to the lab - he couldn't let it sit around for a few days waiting to have enough to send a big batch.

My doctor in Ireland would usually do all bloods Tuesday morn, as Tuesday at noon they'd be sent off.

Toots

My doctor does them on Monday, wednesday and Friday. They'll do them for you on a tues or thurs but there's no courier those days, so you'd have to deliver them down to Vincents yourself because they have to go to the lab that same day. Not a hope in hell I'd be doing that, if I had a bag of blood vials in the passenger seat next to me I'd faint before I got out of the car park.

my3cents

Toots wrote: »

My doctor does them on Monday, wednesday and Friday. They'll do them for you on a tues or thurs but there's no courier those days, so you'd have to deliver them down to Vincents yourself because they have to go to the lab that same day. Not a hope in hell I'd be doing that, if I had a bag of blood vials in the passenger seat next to me I'd faint before I got out of the car park.

My doctors surgery WON'T do them on a Friday because the by the time the tests get done on a Monday its too late to test - well thats what they say.

catmack

What is the update on this issue, just went today to my GP and a sign up 10 euros for routine bloodwork with medical card. I did not say anything to them. HSE says GP can't charge, what is the deal here.

byhookorbycrook

Whiplashy wrote: »

I have a medical card and up until last year my blood tests were free. Then GP started charging €20 for them. No sign up. No prior warning. Was told by the receptionist on my way out that I'd have to pay. I'm on long term medication that has a high chance of damaging my liver so I'm supposed to have bloods done every month, but I just can't afford to. Haven't had them checked at all this year.

not sounding smart, but given a choice between paying for internet access and blood tests, I know what I'd choose.

malinheader

Emma Mysterious Visitor wrote: »

My GP charges but you have the option to go to a hospital blood test clinic for free with note.

Same here my GP charges 10 euros irrespective of medical card or not. Or you can travel to the local hospital where it is done free of charge.

NollagShona

Routine would incur a fee