Lab Work in Canada

[Optimistic_Para]

I'm on warfarin and my cardiologist wants me to have blood drawn monthly to check the - inr numbers, I think it's called. Anyway, I'm planning a trip of several months in Canada and I was wondering if Canadian labs would accept and process a work order from an American doctor? Anyone here been through this? Thanks.

Regards
John

[was_butnotnow]

Have you thought about asking your Dr. about going from warfarin to Xarelto. No more tests and can eat anything. Not cheap but if your Ins covers it. It's the way to go. You see their ads on TV all the time. If you can afford to travel for several months in Canada you can afford Xarelto, me thinks. Take Care,

Sorry I did't see your above post that you may not be able to take this drug. Ask your Dr. if Xarelto

[Optimistic_Para]

Got the following response from Dynacare this morning:

Good morning Mr. Perz, We do not accept foreign prescription. In order to have the test done here, you have to have a prescription signed by a physician in Canada.

My dr. tried switching me to Pradaxa some years ago. After about 3 months on it, I developed muscle pain and insomnia, so other drugs are out. I may check out the self-testing meter, if my Doc is OK with that.

Thanks everyone

[Scottiemom]

They now have meters which test the INR that are very similar to a glucometer to test blood sugar. We had talked with our doctor about that when my DH was on warfarin. They had a high rate of incorrect readings when they first came out, but they got the bugs worked out. Our cardiologist eventually told us we could use one. But he no longer needed the warfarin, so he is off of it now.

I would ask your doctor if you could use the meter and self test. They would have to provide you with the scale to adjust your dose, or you could call it in when you test.

This would be the easiest and no cost to you.

INR Meters

Dale

[Harvey51]

My wife needed this testing weekly and we had some trouble with it while traveling. Some places were easy; just stop at a small town hospital and show the prescription from our doctor. Cities in other provinces were more problematic. In Toronto, DW was required to get an order from a local doc which involved a few hours wait, then more hours at the testing place. There was never a charge, fully covered by Alberta health care. We resolved to purchase our own testing tool, which was hundreds of dollars but would have definitely been worth it.
Forum discussion on self testing

Fortunately DW was changed to one of the newer, better anticoagulant drugs. It is extremely stable and does not require testing. It is probably more expensive and not suited to every condition.

[almcc]

I would check with Dynacare if you will be in an area they service. For payment they have a "bill pay" agreement with Canadian banks, they normally mail an invoice but they may be able to E-mail it to you.

[Bmach]

Talk to your doctor?

[garyhaupt]

It won't be the getting it done part..it will be who is paying for the work. Then you need to have the results read. You can fax them to your own doctor but then it will get interesting if they need to adjust your meds. You really do need to contact some of the major labs, and see what they say.


Gary Haupt

[bdhoun]

Maybe check with your out of country medical insurance provider. I know my father was having his inr checked in Florida while he was snowbirding. I'm sure you can do the opposite.

[GaryKH]

kilbearcamper wrote:
Hi
Dynacare.ca is laboratory company that operates over 200 labs in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
You may want to contact them for an answer to your question.
Hope this Helps

Add to this, Lifelabs in BC and Ontario. You should get the info straight from the source.
Lifelabs

[kilbearcamper]

Hi
Dynacare.ca is laboratory company that operates over 200 labs in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
You may want to contact them for an answer to your question.
Hope this Helps