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This site is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any individual. If you believe you have a medical emergency, call 911 immediately. In-home testing is a good option for patients who can’t make it to the lab frequently, who travel often, who have difficulty leaving their homes, or who want to be more independent. Whatever your reason for switching to home testing, the key is that you remain committed to testing your levels. “The testing machines themselves only have two buttons and are pretty easy to use.
A patient’s warfarin dose depends on many factors, including the patient’s age, overall health and genetic makeup. The dose may also need to be adjusted based on a patient’s diet and current medications. NATF provides the information and materials on this site for general information purposes only. You should not rely on the information provided as a substitute for professional medical advice, care, or treatment.
Deep Vein Thrombosis
An INR above the patient-specific target range may increase the risk of bleeding, while an INR below the target range may increase the risk of developing a blood clot. Patients use PT/INR blood testing to determine how well their anticoagulant medicine is working to prevent blood clots. PT measures the speed of blood coagulation, while INR provides a way to standardize such measurement. Tests can be performed at home, as long as the patient works with his or her health care provider as part of an anticoagulation management program. An INR is a standardized number that is calculated based on PT test results and is used to monitor patients being treated with blood-thinning medication.
A test strip is inserted into the meter, and then a lancet is used to obtain blood which is applied to the test strip. The meter reads the test strip, measures how long it takes the blood to clot, and provides the result based on a standardized calculation in the form of the International Normalized Ratio, or INR. The INR is used by patients and physicians to determine if warfarin dosing is appropriate.
Your Whole Health
Most of the people I spoke to I swear were in their first week on the job asking if I needed home health or to rent equipment like a wheel chair.. A federal government website managed and paid for by the U.S. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site. It also only applies to people with stable hematocrit within the acceptable fingerstick testing range, so they must have been screened for anemia first. Working for Lincare Strive to make a difference in every patient’s life - every day. Links to various non-Aetna sites are provided for your convenience only.
In the case of BioTel Heart they are in California so they needed to call BCBS of California who would then work with BCBS of texas. BCBSTX cannot apparently work with a provider directly that is not registered with the state of Tx. I'm honestly surprised that BioTel heart agents didn't appear to know this and they had to hear it from me. The machine is simple, has built in quality controls, no special maintenance required. In this busy world many patients lack time, are elderly or unable to travel to a lab to be tested.
The above policy is based on the following references:
The company basically lets us use the machines for "free" but we have to buy the test strips through them...which are like $6 a strip. Insurance coverage for home testing varies from plan to plan. Many insurers cover the cost of home testing, but some patients may have a copay or some out-of-pocket expense. In-home testing only requires a finger stick, instead of a full blood sample. My former provider also tried this method but was still denied and they will not work with patients who are out-of-network. These out-of-state companies need to file with the BCBS in the state where they are registered.
Warfarin must be monitored to ensure it is working effectively and being used safely. Achieving the correct warfarin dosage can be difficult but is extremely important. If the dose of warfarin is too low, the patient is at risk of developing harmful blood clots. If the dose of warfarin is too high, the patient may be at risk of serious bleeding. INR test meters may be prescribed to patients for use in the home, and they may also be used by health care providers at the point of care, such as a health care setting.
INR test meters and test strips are medical devices regulated by the U.S. The FDA wants to ensure patients and health care providers use these devices safely. Medicare’s prior policy only provided home test coverage for Medicare patients with mechanical heart valves who are on warfarin. The North American Thrombosis Forum is a 5013 nonprofit organization incorporated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Patients who have diabetes will be familiar with this type of machine – it follows the same process as testing blood sugar. The most important thing is to make sure that you get enough blood on the test strip,” says Dr. Collins. It allows patients to test their INR levels without the need for frequent visits to a lab. Once BioTel filed with BCBSCA after a week or so they were approved. Then my cardiologist & coagulation clinic needed to send more paperwork to BioTel and then I was approved and BioTel shipped the unit. Also I didn't have to pay for training since i've been testing at home for several years with a similar/nearly identical unit.
A couple of years ago the fda released coaguchek xs for patient home use. If they have someone who can perform the test or are cognitively intact and reliable to do the test themselves and report to md for dosing instructions, they qualify. Medicare pays for it with a doctor rx and so do other insurance companies. This only applies to people on long term coumadin/warfarin therapy such as for heart valve, etc. . How often an INR test meter is used to monitor warfarin, and the results a patient should expect, will be based on recommendations from the patient’s health care provider. It is typically between 2.0 and 3.0 for basic blood-thinning needs, though the range may vary based on a patient’s specific conditions.
Aetna Inc. and its subsidiary companies are not responsible or liable for the content, accuracy, or privacy practices of linked sites, or for products or services described on these sites. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site. BioTel Heart is the _only one_ that came through as approved of the handful I tried. I had to call them and my doctors office and BCBS every week to follow-up.
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