Routine Pathology Blood Tests

Your GP / Doctor will usually encourage you to complete at least one standard blood examination each year (also known as a routine blood or pathology test). A standard or routine blood examination is usually a bundle of blood tests designed to provide a general picture of your health. Standard blood examinations typically include tests such as a full blood count of cells and markers in your blood, basic liver and hormone panels to assess liver function and the regulation of your endocrine system. Routine examinations usually analyse blood-glucose and cholesterol levels, and overall blood-serum chemistry, including health markers to gain a sense of kidney and heart function or to identify possible systemic inflammation and/or disease, which may require further and more specialised testing.

However, vitamin D analysis is not considered a standard or routine test in the same way as the forementioned tests are. Vitamin D analysis is therefore not bundled together to form the standard blood examination and is not tested.

Over the last 10 years or so, as society is becoming more health conscious and familiar with nutritional defecits, including vitamin D, there has been a steady rise in the number of people requesting regular vitamin D analysis from their Doctor / GP at the time the Doctor / GP is completing the pathology request form. An increased interest in vitamin D status by way of vitamin D pathology testing has been observed in Australia by Medicare (because of the additional bulk billed costs involved to test for vitamin D), the RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners), pathology nurses and Doctors. Due to the prevelance and significance of vitamin D deficiency in most cases, your Doctor / GP will accept your request and test for vitamin D by including this additional test on the pathology form, especially so, if vitamin D analysis is a periodic test only, for example once a year. Although, repeated vitamin D tests may be required during a year if the initial test results indicate a severe deficiency, which will require some changes and intervention to correct the deficiency along with future reviews and tests. Although, your Doctor / GP may respectfully decline your request to test for vitamin D if their professional medical opinion has ruled out the likelihood for vitamin D deficiency, following a health assessment during the consult. Over recent years, Doctors / GPs are less inclined to test for vitamin D unless there are presenting signs and symptoms that indicate a deficiency. It is also highly likely that Doctors / GPs are be experiencing some pressure from Medicare and/or the RACGP, which is a governing body that represents GPs and their profession.

If your Doctor / GP respectfully declines your request to add the vitamin D test to the pathology request form and you do find yourself in a definate need of determining your vitamin D status, there are a couple of options available to you:

• Review the primary signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency (mentioned earlier), identify the signs and symptoms you are experiencing to see if there is a pattern. Be persistent with your Doctor / GP and succinctly explain to them the reasons why you believe vitamin D deficiency is possible

• Ask your Doctor / GP to provide you with information on the specific and individual vitamin D test, including the out-of-pocket costs involved if you were to independently and privately pay for the test (essentially, you pay for the cost of the vitamin D test, instead of it being a bulk-billed cost to Medicare). This test is fairly reasonable. At the time of writing this health insight, the vitamin D test is around $25

• Alternatively, a Naturopathic Practitioner at Optimal Vitality is qualified to complete pathology request forms and you can arrange to have the results of your vitamin D test (or any blood pathology results) sent to us. Naturopathic Practitioners at Optimal Vitality regularly request pathology, functional and other diagnostic tests for their clients and are well-versed in interpreting and understanding diagnostic reports and results to inform their clients and recommend treatment strategies. However, all tests are billed privately to the client. Unfortunately, the Medicare bulk-billed structure is unavailable to Naturopaths. It is a structure afforded to Doctors / GPs and other professionals practising conventional medicine only.

Remember to check-in regularly with yourself during the year but especially during winter. You don’t always need a blood test to recognise a possible deficiency. Review the signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. but avoid self-diagnosing and jumping to conclusions An example may be that you are experiencing frequent cold and flus during winter, which may be unusual for you compared to previous years. Although, while frequent cold and flus may be an indication of vitamin D deficiency, it is also important to consider and rule out other reasons too.