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Home Testing INR
I'm curious how many folks are doing their own INR testing. I just got my own testing kit this week, and am looking forward to skipping the trips to the clinic and the benefit of weekly testing. My primary care physician had never heard of such a thing, but after jumping through some hoops for insurance, they approved it and paid all but $125 for a $1600 machine.
If the option is available, seems like a no brainer...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Walters on -
I too would be most interested to have feedback from those who do home testing. I am still visiting the anti coagulation clinic and plan to carry on doing so until the Amiodarone, which I stopped a couple of weeks ago, has cleared my system. Then I need to decide whether to go to my GP practice or press the anti coagulation clinic to support my self testing. I've raised it with them but I have a feeling that will need to be pushed. The price of a machine in the UK is about £300.
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Permalink Reply by Graeme on -
Hi John..
I must be a living anachronism.. I have been using the local phlebotomy (blood testing) clinic at the NHS for 7 years since my dissection..but I only go every 8 weeks or so as my INR is pretty stable - 2.8 - 3-2 and my doc and my cardiologist and the clinic seem happy with 8 weeks at a time..or if i get anything outside of that they move it up to 4 weeks at a time... I have been however pondering buying a coagchecker .. let me know how you get on with NHS for the purchase of test strips etc..as the new libdem economy drive with NHS switch from primary trusts is going to affect this/us..i think...
cheers
Graeme
John Walters said:I too would be most interested to have feedback from those who do home testing. I am still visiting the anti coagulation clinic and plan to carry on doing so until the Amiodarone, which I stopped a couple of weeks ago, has cleared my system. Then I need to decide whether to go to my GP practice or press the anti coagulation clinic to support my self testing. I've raised it with them but I have a feeling that will need to be pushed. The price of a machine in the UK is about £300.
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Permalink Reply by Joel Hebrink on -
I don't want to thread jack or change the topic, but as a Political Science professor I'm fascinated in the differences of how our countries fund healthcare. There are many over here on the Yankee side of the Atlantic that cringe at the thought of anything resembling an NHS.
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Permalink Reply by Graeme on
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Joel,
Australia and NZ have a similar setup to the NHS here in the UK. In Australia I had top of the line private health insurance - very expensive and frankly no better than the NHS. My wife has private insurance here in the UK and apart from being able to pick her specialist(s) and in some cases a shorter waiting time to see a specialist - the NHS care is the same.
The NHS was magnificent with my Aortic Dissection and saved my life 10 times over. Fantastic response times, incredibly gifted surgeons, fantastic nursing . Bottom line. If you have a non-life threatening ailment in the UK best you have private health care as the NHS is not really interested and it's a low priority. If you go in under a blue light - and it's critical - as it was with me - there is no difference as you receive the same care and the same surgeons and the same level of nursing as if you had the highest medical cover in the land. My op and care I think in the US would have cost around $750K plus on health insurance. Cost to me. NIL. In my books the NHS is the best medical system there is. Period. It needs however some rejigging here as it has gotten too big and bloated and needs cutting back into smaller more manageable units - which is now happening. I must say that many of us - including most of my friends are totally puzzled why the Obama health bill has met with such fierce resistance. But - as you said - this is not the place nor the time to debate such a contentious issue with our friends across the pond..The NHS rocks!
cheers
Graeme
Joel Hebrink said:I don't want to thread jack or change the topic, but as a Political Science professor I'm fascinated in the differences of how our countries fund healthcare. There are many over here on the Yankee side of the Atlantic that cringe at the thought of anything resembling an NHS.
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Permalink Reply by John Walters on
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Last summer I was treated for endocarditis and had a new mitral valve fitted at an excellent specialist hospital in London with follow through care at my local hospital. All was done really well on the NHS and it didn't cost me a penny. I have no private medical insurance and wouldn't dream of paying for it. Long live the NHS.
Joel Hebrink said:
I don't want to thread jack or change the topic, but as a Political Science professor I'm fascinated in the differences of how our countries fund healthcare. There are many over here on the Yankee side of the Atlantic that cringe at the thought of anything resembling an NHS.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Deal on
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i'll wade in on the nhs - penny for penny, the most efficient healthcare system on the planet - a godsend (if you believe in such things) not only for yourself, but also your fellow man. the problem i have amongst my american friends is that socialism is synonymous with communism and completely at odds with "free" market capitalism - so i am treated with contempt whenever i mention the nhs and am ridiculed for feeling a certain degree of responsibility for my fellow man. i can almost understand the former (although it is, in my opinion, completely baseless), but the latter simply shames humanity. woah... who started me off...? back to business - i was treated in germany for my dissection - where everyone needs health insurance, but where the state has strict controls on what MUST be covered - and an insurance company becomes a pseudo-NPO. i was treated for various other chronic conditions in the uk on the nhs prior to moving out to germany and the comparison with the nhs is very favourable. sometimes here the waiting time for consultant visits is shorter, but for serious conditions, really no difference.
i'll also wade in on the home testing - i have been home testing and self medicating since i was released from convalescent care. during convalescent care i received the training on the device, and the necessary forms and other paraphernalia to take to my gp for the prescription. i use the roche coaguchek xs and this was funded by my health insurance (i had to pay a device "prescription" fee of 10 euros). test strips, lancets and the such are prescribed to me as and when required and paid for entirely by the insurance company. i measure once a week and verify the device is still within accuracy by means of a venous blood test at my gp's every 6 months or so. i found it a very important step for my recovery and if ever something out of the ordinary happens (like falling asleep on the sofa and completely missing a set of tablets) i can easily check the effects a couple of days later and modify my dosage accordingly. the flexibility it affords me is most definitely priceless to me.
r
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Permalink Reply by Graeme on
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Richard,
Good to c u did not go to sleep under the xmas tree ;-) Happy New Year! As for wading in - I wud be disappointed if u did not! Also - ALL - I think this (UK - NHS) v US health debate deserves a forum all by itself so everyone can wade in...!!
So here it is... and I TOTALLY SUPPORT support Richards view on the NHS and also say again - the NHS saved my life and is probably the best meical system there is. So let's hear what our across the pond friends have to say ... :-)Lets hear from ALL on this one.. I will also introduce it onto the Aortic Dissection site as well..
cheers
Graeme
ps - no more posting on this thread - go to the new thread: UK NHS ...
Richard Deal said:i'll wade in on the nhs - penny for penny, the most efficient healthcare system on the planet - a godsend (if you believe in such things) not only for yourself, but also your fellow man. the problem i have amongst my american friends is that socialism is synonymous with communism and completely at odds with "free" market capitalism - so i am treated with contempt whenever i mention the nhs and am ridiculed for feeling a certain degree of responsibility for my fellow man. i can almost understand the former (although it is, in my opinion, completely baseless), but the latter simply shames humanity. woah... who started me off...? back to business - i was treated in germany for my dissection - where everyone needs health insurance, but where the state has strict controls on what MUST be covered - and an insurance company becomes a pseudo-NPO. i was treated for various other chronic conditions in the uk on the nhs prior to moving out to germany and the comparison with the nhs is very favourable. sometimes here the waiting time for consultant visits is shorter, but for serious conditions, really no difference.
i'll also wade in on the home testing - i have been home testing and self medicating since i was released from convalescent care. during convalescent care i received the training on the device, and the necessary forms and other paraphernalia to take to my gp for the prescription. i use the roche coaguchek xs and this was funded by my health insurance (i had to pay a device "prescription" fee of 10 euros). test strips, lancets and the such are prescribed to me as and when required and paid for entirely by the insurance company. i measure once a week and verify the device is still within accuracy by means of a venous blood test at my gp's every 6 months or so. i found it a very important step for my recovery and if ever something out of the ordinary happens (like falling asleep on the sofa and completely missing a set of tablets) i can easily check the effects a couple of days later and modify my dosage accordingly. the flexibility it affords me is most definitely priceless to me.
r
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to get this one back on track: information is available for prospective "patients" for the coaguchek:
UK: here
US: here
DE: here
there are other manufacturers out there (Philips, HemoSense (also have information on reimbursement), and ProTime - can't find them online)
i guess in the UK you will have to contact your local NHS trust in order to see whether they will pay the costs for the device (i think the consumables would be covered automatically), in the US i have no idea - my friend who had a PE got hers on worker's comp, i don't think the consumables are fully covered, but don't quote me on it. in germany, your health insurance have to order and cover the cost of the unit if your doctor prescribes it to you (you still have to pay 10 euros though) and the consumables are then also automatically covered.
like i said, the flexibility and the increased frequency of measurement are priceless. if you are tired of having blood sucked out of your arm and the associated discomfort and risks - this is definitely an option that should be considered...
hope that this helps,
r
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Permalink Reply by Philip James on -
John Walters said:I too would be most interested to have feedback from those who do home testing. I am still visiting the anti coagulation clinic and plan to carry on doing so until the Amiodarone, which I stopped a couple of weeks ago, has cleared my system. Then I need to decide whether to go to my GP practice or press the anti coagulation clinic to support my self testing. I've raised it with them but I have a feeling that will need to be pushed. The price of a machine in the UK is about £300.
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Permalink Reply by Deryck Muehlhauser on
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It's been a while for my posts. Atlanta has been virtually closed since the Winter storm arrived Sunday evening. Overnight low temperatures refreeze anything that melts and reduces all forms of travel to a crawl...not exactly the "Sunny South".
I began home testing mid April 2010. I'm 74 and on Medicare. They pay for the meter, test strips and lancets since I have a mechanical heart valve. I pay $22 US for each 4th test. Medicare takes $90/month from my Social Security and supplemental insurance is $80/month. If I stay within the range of 2.5 to 3.5, I'm scheduled to test every 4 weeks. If I fall below or rise above that range I'm scheduled to test in 2 weeks. I've stayed within the recommended range (2.7-3.0) for the last 8 times. Reporting is done on the computer to both Coaguchek and the Coumadin Clinic at Emory Hospitals.
Cheers To everyone and Happy New Year.
Deryck
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just a quickie: had another comparison reading done yesterday when i had blood taken and my lab value was 2.38, my coaguchek said i was 2.6 - so everything within stated accuracy ranges...
r
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the XS...
hope this helps,
r
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