In our case the specialist normally gives us blood referral requests at each visit with instructions as to their frequency. If all is stable then they are three monthly intervals. Bloods monitored at our end are:
- FBC
- UEC
- LFT’s
- CMP
- CRP
- TFT’s
- Coags
- FE Studies
At times I will request additional tests.
If you have a GP (you will need a GP to do a referral to a specialist. No referral = no appointment) then they too can order the same blood tests. If the specialist orders the tests he will cc the GP into them and vice versa but it would mostly be the specialist doing any actioning if required. You will find here that once you are referred to a specialist he/she will make the recommendations and it is the GP that does the leg work, IYKWIM, as most services feed back to the GP as the central point of continuity of care. Most doctors have a preferred pathology service that they use referral forms for but those requests are valid at any pathology service, not just name printed on the form. Same goes for radiology request forms.
All the tests listed above are covered by Medicare. So if you have a Medicare card you just present it to the receptionist at pathology. Most labs here are run independently of hospitals and as such are located in the community. The bloods can be done at either location.