Courtesy Lab Visits
My dad’s INR has gone through the roof since last week when his doctor put him on Prednisone because his asthma was acting up really badly. Prednisone is one of the contraindictions to my dad’s condition with coumadin. Because of this, I had to take him once a week. But poor Dad has a hard time with car transfers. As it is, his knees are in terrible shape with no cartilage so he has to sit in his wheelchair. When I explained this to the Coumadin Clinic nurse she told me that his medical clinic does a courtesy service for its immobile medical patients at no charge. They will send out a lab tech to the patient’s residence to draw blood. I was ecstatic as this was something I thought was only available with mobile physicians. I had asked her if we could just monitor his readings ourselves. However, she told me that the machines normally cost around $2000.00 and so this service is usually recommended. Not a problem for me! So, from now on Dad gets a visit at home. Have you checked with your parents’ medical clinic? They may have this service –doesn’t hurt to ask!