Why does a person need to have a referral from a doctor to go to a lab clinic to!


Question:

Why does a person need to have a referral from a doctor to go to a lab clinic to take a medical test?

Why can't a person just go to a clinic and get tested without a referral?


Answers:

A physician will assess your medical complaint(s) and decide which of many, many different lab tests to order. Physicians are trained to recognize which symptoms may indicate which conditions. Insurance companies will not pay for a lab test which was done without a physician's diagnosis.

For instance, a sore throat may not always indicate a strep infection; it could be gonorrhea, mononucleosis, sinus drainage, reflux, allergies, tonsillitis, cancer... as a layperson, you would not know what test to request for each of the above possibilities.

Let's assume laypeople are allowed to request their own lab tests. Laypersons requesting lab tests indiscriminately would clog the lab testing system beyond belief; it could take weeks to get results for a simple test such as a CBC. Hypochondriacs would request every test imaginable on a regular basis. Insurance companies would throw up their hands in frustration and stop paying for the testing.

You, personally, may have a very good idea of what condition you may have and what tests are needed to diagnose that condition. However, most patients are not as responsible.




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