Routine Blood tests in Europe

[Tim P]

My wife has to have routine blood tests every month, and up until lately we have been able to stretch them out a bit if necessary to suit our travel plans. However the NHS has decided to upgrade her specialist biological drugs which means that the routine Blood tests now have to be very regular, every 28 days without fail! So here's the question "has anybody had to have Blood tests in Europe (after Brexit) under the GHIC system? and if so how does it work? Are Phlebotomy appointments easy to make? or must they be booked weeks in advance?

 

[Jim]

I'm not 100% sure, However I imagine you'll need to go to a private lab and pay, which is what we had to do in France and Portugal a couple of years ago. There are quite a few around.

What is Biolyss (in english)?

Biolyss is a Laboratory performing Human Biological Analysis.

biolyss.fr

 

[Tim P]

Thanks Jim, we thought we might have to go down the private route, but does anybody know if any of the costs are covered by the GHIC card?

 

[Verteuil Man]

This sounds very similar to a friend of mine who is on wayfaring for a heart complaint. He has informed his clinic that he is travelling and his doctor prescribes him with wayfaring and hypodermic to travel with. At the required interval he goes to a hospital and pays for a blood test then phones his clinic with the results. They then tell him how much to inject.

 

[Brains]

Thanks Jim, we thought we might have to go down the private route, but does anybody know if any of the costs are covered by the GHIC card?

I'd have thought highly unlikely.

My medical experiences within the EU, (Holland, France, Italy, Spain and Germany) even before 2016, were you paid up front and then claimed it on either your insurance or your own countries NHS

I very much doubt the UK NHS would pay out for a blood test in any other country, just because you could not plan your holiday around their dates.

Depending on the cost, it may be cheaper to get a Ryan Air flight back for a couple of days.

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[Tim P]

I read this on the GHIC website :-
"Your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) does not cover going abroad for planned medical treatments.

An EHIC or GHIC is for "necessary healthcare" from state services when you're visiting the EU and Switzerland. Necessary healthcare means healthcare that becomes medically necessary during your stay, and you cannot reasonably wait until you're back in the UK to get it." which seems to suggest that something that cannot wait is covered. Another question is a UK Prescription for a blood test valid inthe EU?

 

[Puddleduck]

My brother in law always had to book and pay for private tests. He traveled a lot on his career.

Generally he would contact the nearest hospital and ask their advice and never had issues so long as he asked a week or so before he needed the test. I imagine the more unusual the test then then more issues you may face.

I do regular tests for blood clotting and the NHS pay for the test strips and lancets, I bought the testing machine via private prescription. I know people in other NHS areas who have machines provided by the NHS, it just depends on where you live.

 

[jarcadia]

I have had routine blood tests for Warfarin in pharmacies in Italy for years, usually around 5euro.

 

[Tim P]

For €5 that sounds like a skin pop on your thumb ( or similar) My wife needs a few test tubes full taking! (that's nearly an armful) to misquote the late great Tony Hancock!

 

[scotzsue]

Needed bloodtest, admittedly pre covid, in spain went to tourist info where the lovely lady wrote out in spanish what was reqired, gave me directions to the clinic, think at that time it was about 10 euro, results back following morning, have recently had similar bloods taken by NHS almost 2 weeks ago still waiting for the results.
Small price to pay to be able to continue enjoying our travels.

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[gus-lopez]

Private in spain would be best. I was only looking at them here in Lorca this morning.

 

[MichaelT]

Thanks Jim, we thought we might have to go down the private route, but does anybody know if any of the costs are covered by the GHIC card?

GHIC covers emergency not routine i believe?

 

[Tea Bag]

Hi.
Plenty of " Testing set ups " in Portugal,for very little money,don't know if you could go to a hospital/Dr's. as you need a " Fiscal number and perhaps now a residence card. Whatever,Portugals hospitals farmacies will NEVER let you down.
Tea Bag.

 

[Ridgeway]

Routine bloods are done here for my wife once a year or more. We pay about £200 for a full set of tests with results back within a week. One issue you may come across though is that many doctors will only share results with a follow up consultation, be that physical or via phone but many won’t release the results otherwise so worth checking that.

 

[Puddleduck]

I have had routine blood tests for Warfarin in pharmacies in Italy for years, usually around 5euro.

5 Euros is a bargain. The test strips for my machine are £115 for 24 tests (from an approved supplier although mine are free via the NHS), or almost £5 a strip and sometimes I need more than one strip - usually if I don't manage to get enough blood fast enough. A good rule of thumb is that you need a blob the size of a large adult ladybird

I feel guilty getting the test strips via the NHS but being tested at the GP they use the same machine and test strips (and almost always have to use 2 or even 3 strips) so would cost even more especially as the GP surgery would have to pay wages. Testing in the hospital they take a phial of blood and test in the lab so even more cost!

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[emjaiuk]

Hopefully this is a link to a 2017 thread which maybe helpful

Urgent Help Please - Blood Tests in France

Does anybody know whether or not you can usually 'walk-in' to a laboratoire d'ánalyses to get a blood test or do you normally need an appointment? I'm in Gruisson Plage at the moment and I need to get an INR test done for my warfarin dose. I've got a translation for the lab when I get there...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Coolcats]

Different strips cost varying amounts depending what is being tested for

An example are these for testing lactate in the blood or glucose

Lactate Pro 2 Test Strips

Lactate Pro 2 Test Strips for the Lactate Pro 2 meter allow you to measure blood lactate levels in only 15 seconds with just 0.3 microL of blood. Buy now.

www.habdirect.co.uk

Diabetes Test Kits & Strips | Boots

Explore our selection of diabetes test kits, strips & monitoring systems. Order online today.

www.boots.com

 

[BreweryDave]

Can only speak for Portugal, where we live in the Algarve. You would need to go private. There are many places to walk in and get a blood test, locally we have Aqua Labs. There is a ‘menu’ depending what you need testing, ranging from €25 to €250. ( obviously you wouldn’t want the big one every month) . Having had experience of both recently, the cheapest test had results in 48 hours, the thorough one was over 2 weeks.

 

[Camdoon]

We had an Italian 6th former staying with us for a year and he was poorly (his girlfriend had just dumped him). His mother thought there was something wrong with him (he was still on his play station, eating like a horse, told us he was ok and had been checked out by our GP's nurse) and asked us to arrange a blood test which bemused us but was obviously common practice in Italy. He went home a couple of weeks later for Easter and the word placebo was included in her half hearted apology.