Medical tests in Switzerland - patient not entitled to see results ?
Medical tests - patients not entitled to see them
Hi all, one more adventure of my life in Switzerland. Here it is about your medical test results, and the fact that you do not get them automatically. Here is how to make sure you get them.
Here again, it is probably a particularity of the country. Recently I took some medical tests, and I received the invoice. In the first place, I was surprised not to see any measure like pmol/l, nmol/l, UI/l. A bit surprised, I called the lab that had processed my blood test, and the woman I had on the phone laughed at me, saying what they had sent me was only the billing rate for each element tested. I got quite upset and told her billing without fully servicing the customer/patient was unprofessional.
Hi all, one more adventure of my life in Switzerland. Here it is about your medical test results, and the fact that you do not get them automatically. Here is how to make sure you get them.
Here again, it is probably a particularity of the country. Recently I took some medical tests, and I received the invoice. In the first place, I was surprised not to see any measure like pmol/l, nmol/l, UI/l. A bit surprised, I called the lab that had processed my blood test, and the woman I had on the phone laughed at me, saying what they had sent me was only the billing rate for each element tested. I got quite upset and told her billing without fully servicing the customer/patient was unprofessional.
She told me that the patient will only receive the results upon request,... like what ??? are we children and they only can talk serious matters with our "parents", the medical doctors ? I got so upset with her she almost hung on on me. They are quick to send the bill, but not the results...
The conclusion is that it is at the time of the test that you should request for the results to be mailed to you.
Which still upsets me to this day...
Take your health into your hands
Which leads me, I believe, to my main point, that is, more and more people take health matters into their own hands. There is increased awareness, entire communities on the internet, people not trusting physicians anymore for their health. And I have to confess I recognize myself among these people. I want to be able to read my blood test results and do some research on various websites to cross check information. I have had doctors laughing at my face when I explained what I thought could be the rootcause of the issue. But as you may have noticed, most of them aren't interested in the cause, the only thing they want is to prescribe medicine to treat the symptoms, keep the appointment below 10 minutes and charge you the maximum. Of course, this is how you make the most money...
Cultural difference - how medical professions are perceived in Switzerland (Geneva)
Then again, I feel like there is a local culture where the medical professionals are seen as the Supreme and Ultimate source of truth regarding patients' health, what the heck ? to the point where only them are entitled to read basic blood test results !
Is it indeed the case ? I discussed recently with an American that had been in the country for many years. He himself had to leave slamming the door in the middle of a consultation as the medical staff wouldn't consider his view.
So probably one of the things to get used to, however that does not mean we have to give in. And you, what has been your experience with healthcare medical staff in Geneva ?
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