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Comment by nosefrog | Hacker News Reader

Has anyone else noticed that OneMedical doesn't do full blood tests during yearly screenings anymore? My girlfriend had to beg for a vitamin d test last time she went (they said she didn't need one because she looked healthy, and when she got her results it said she was low on vitamin d), and last time I went they only screened me for cholesterol because I told them I wasn't vegan anymore and that I've developed a taco bell habit.

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Every time a doctor refuses a test you asked for, you just need to ask them to provide it in writing that they refused to provide you that test.

They will magically give you the test after that :-)

This is even easier now that most providers are (rightfully) giving patients electronic access to their charts. I requested a blood test once, the doctor refused saying it was unnecessary, I asked that it get documented in my chart. He said fine, but didn't. When I sent a message asking that his note be updated to include that I requested the test and was told it was unnecessary, I got a call from the office... to schedule the test.

If you're particularly averse to confrontation you could do the above and even skip directly asking them to document the refusal. It would probably have the same end result.

I know this is the wrong answer, because you should be expecting reasonable care from your physician, but if you're on an HDHP plan just buy the service from LabCorp and reimburse yourself. For some reason, direct-to-consumer blood work is becoming a thing.

Yeah but I’d like the doctor to interpret it for me. Especially on parameters that have dependencies.

I agree and I thought that might be a problem. I would be in the same position.

In my experience vitamin D tests were never part of their standard blood test panel. They had no problems prescribing it for me when I asked but it wasn't covered by insurance.

I believe insurance carriers have gotten much more aggressive about denying coverage for general Vit D screening absent a specific diagnostic code.

It's not part of the usual panel, and I get the sense that more and more doctors have been tacking it on for everyone.

It’s interesting seeing the “why won’t my doctor run the tests I want” combined with “it’s shocking how expensive insurance is now!”

They told me the same thing and that "Nearly everyone has a Vitamin D deficiency, so just take the pills."

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