Chris: Yes, that’s a pretty good one. The most affordable one usually is the NMR lipid profile, and you can order that through LabCorp or Quest. It’s usually about $65 out of pocket if, but insurance will typically cover it. But even if it doesn’t, it’s usually only about $65, which is pretty affordable. It has LDL, the standard lipid panel, but it also has LDL particle number. It’s got HDL particle number and some other markers that are put together to calculate something that they call the LPIR, so, lipoprotein insulin resistance score, and that score has been correlated with a number of different metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes. That’s a good test to use.
We use True Health Diagnostics, that’s our optimal lab. If the patient has insurance, it will cover it. It’s the most advanced lab for lipid testing. We’ll be covering that in the blood chemistry section of this course, but in some cases, for example, with patients with Blue Cross and Blue Shield, insurance won’t cover it, so we will in that situation use the NMR lipid profile if the patient is paying out of pocket. It’s like $65 versus $1,200 or $1,300 for the True Health Diagnostics panel if they’re paying out of pocket. We don’t want to stick a patient with a bill like that so we always ask upfront what their insurance is and then decide on what lab after that.