Saturday, January 2, 2010

Shortcut to getting lab work done

We all hate having to wait at the doctors or getting lab work done. Luckily most of our family doctors run very efficient offices and do not believe in overbooking their day so the first issue is not usually an issue for us. However, I do not have any control over the labs when I need to get blood drawn - or do I??

On Thurs I had to get blood drawn for an enzyme test. I knew the lab would close early as it was New Years Eve. Also, I knew it would be busy as it was the last day of the year and deductibles start over on the next day. This is why I had to go on Thurs. I had already hit my deductible for the year.

My doctor sent me to a Quest Lab. If you did not know this, Quest takes appointments. Made on-line or through a phone call. It is very simple. On Thursday morning I made an appointment for 11:20. When I got there and signed in (on the second sign in page) I was one of three with an appointment. I was called in under 5 minutes. There we 30 other people in that waiting room. Making that appointment saved me 2 hours.

So, if you need lab work - check and see if your lab takes appointments. Even if you are on your way to the lab - that phone call might save you valuable time!

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