How do people manage diabetes with an online patient portal
How do people manage diabetes the most efficiently using online lab test results? It helps to set up a patient portal with your doctor and with the lab that sends your test results.
Quest Diagnostics and Peace Health are both huge companies and I've found them to be really efficient for me. You will also want to set up a portal with your doctor so you can send and receive messages.
One of the best things about having online test results is that you can measure your different results over time to see if you're improving or getting worse. The numbers are there for you to keep track of. If you can see the results, you have a better chance of improving. Before the CGM, we were having to sort of fly blind with our daily glucose numbers. Now we can track better than ever before. It's how you take control of your health. The new method of measuring and tracking your health is a life changer. It could help you extend your life by twenty years or maybe more.
How do people manage diabetes through lab work?
The online portal is an excellent way to keep track of your health records. Let's talk about your visit to a lab and have your bloodwork done by professionals. I wish we could do that online as well, but no such luck.
The blood testing process is a lot more efficient than it used to be and that's a good thing. Still, because of the labs processing hundreds of people each day it can feel rushed and a little intimidating the first time. It's best to know in advance how this will go. It's good to arrive at least fifteen minutes early to the lab so you can check in.
Some labs have a nice receptionist that will take your information like your insurance coverage and your driver's license or other types of identification. When that is done, you will wait for your name to be called.
How do people manage diabetes when the lab is crowded or does a lot of business? Some of the busier labs will have a streamlined process where you will check yourself in. You will usually press a start button on the screen and it will ask you for your identification. You will place your ID on a tray and it will get scanned. I know this seems intimidating, but once you do it, the next visits will go much faster and you may actually like the kiosk method instead of the receptionist being there.
You will place your ID face down and it will take a scan. It will usually ask you to flip it over so it can scan the back.
The screen will tell you when it is done and you can move on to your next bit of information which will be your insurance card.
Next, you will place your insurance card or Medicare/Medicaid card face down like you did your ID if you live in the US. It will scan the card then ask you to flip it over to scan the back. If you have secondary insurance, you can put that in through the same process.
Once you finish that, your name and appointment time will be forwarded to the lab technician. You can just wait because you are all checked in.
The technician will come get and lead you to the room where you will sit in a big chair and will have your blood drawn for a bunch of different types of blood tests.
The lab technician will draw blood according to the tests your doctor has requested. Sometimes it's just one vial. Other times it's three or four. Hopefully, it is almost painless.
A lab technician will analyze the blood samples and test levels to see if you are normal or either too high or too low. The online charts usually have a range chart to tell you if your in a normal range. Most of those charts show green lettering if the range is normal. Red lettering usually means something is out of the range of normal. You doctor will check all of these tests and will be able to help you stay on top of your health through the lab results.
The lab results will come back and you will be able to read the results on your online patient portal. This same information will be sent to your doctor so you both can be proactive in maintaining or improving good health.
Blood work testing is easy and important. If you live in a city, you will have more options. You could visit a CVS, Labcorp or a Quest diagnostics. You could even visit an urgent care center or the main hospital in your area. It's best to try and find options that are professional, yet inexpensive. If you live way out in the country you may have limited options. You can visit your family doctor and she or he can forward the test request to a qualified lab that is hopefully close and inexpensive.