OK so I am supposed to go see the endo. in October, I also need to get my A1C done in October so I called them up to see if they would send the dr.'s orders to my lab. The dr. office said I don't need to get my blood taken at the lab because they have a machine in the office that will tell me my A1C with a finger poke. Does anyone else get this done instead of getting your blood drawn? I'm just really confused.. I mean I know they have machines like that that test the A1C with the fingerpoke...I just thought it was common to get blood drawn. Someone help!!
My old doctor ordered the lab blood draw. My new doctor's office did it on the spot. It was so cool to get such fast results (plus my A1C was good).
And I love your A1Confused! You gotta be diabetic to get it.
There are a fair number of affordable A1c machines that doctors can afford and employ in their offices. But most don't, A1c testing services are not reimbursed enough to justify the time and expense, your doctor probably gets $10 for the test. So most just put the burden on the patient to visit a lab. When shopping for an endo, one should ask whether they have an A1c on site and whether they have an in house representative for blood draws. My endo has a phlebotomist on-site during certain hours, a service that makes a difference in how much time you have to spend.
My endo sends me to a lab because they are also checking B12, D3, thyroid, cholesterol, etc.
yeah i added that title after I had already written just A1c Confused...and an "ah hah" moment came to me and A1Confused was born... maybe I started a trend?? lol
My endo at the Joslin uses a finger stick for the A1c which is taken at the same time that the blood is drawn for my other labs.