Do you ever send patients back to their PCP to order necessary additional tests after finding something abnormal on the initial blood chemistry panel?

We always refer patients in getting insurance coverage from their labs in whatever way possible. If their primary is willing to order the necessary tests, then absolutely we’ve done that. In many cases, the primary is not willing to do the exact tests that we’re wanting to have done, particularly if you have Kaiser. They’re pretty stingy on the lab testing front. But in some cases, the primary is really willing to do it, especially if they’re abnormal values. In other cases, we’re actually referring them to a specialist or back to their primary, so they can get a referral to a specialist. An example would be if they have a ferritin level of a 800 and iron saturation of 80 percent, we’re sending them to a hematologist. If they have an HMO, then they’ll go back to their primary and they’ll get a referral to a hematologist. That’s a good idea, and if their primary is open to doing it, absolutely go for it.