Upsell? It's never been a matter of discussion. Doctors orders some standard bloodwork every year. HDL and LDL are part of it.

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Theodores 4 days ago | parent [-]

We don't even have the phrase 'bloodwork' in the UK. Also, in the UK, you can go to the doctor regularly for a checkup to never get this 'bloodwork' thing you Americans speak of. I have never had any done myself, all I get is my iron level when I donate blood, and I only ask about that after curiosity.

Healthcare is very different in America and I am not seeing the benefits of yearly 'bloodwork', it must be an upsell so they can get people onto statins and whatnot for life.

	▲	LorenPechtel 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Multiple things are much better caught earlier. Off the top of my head: Catch the elevated A1c before it does any damage, or get diagnosed from a hypoglycemic episode?? (By which point a lot of damage has been done.) Catch the elevated TSH and supplement before there are any symptoms, or wait until the patient presents with hypothyroid? Note that the patient will have been through a fair amount of blah before the diagnosis is made. And thyroid hormones are very dose sensitive and it's a couple of months to stabilize on a new dose, so bringing the patient back to normal can take quite a while. US approach, my wife's TSH was high, they put her on some thyroid hormone, no symptoms of hypothyroid and no rush to dial in the dose because it's still within the body's ability to compensate and thus causes no problem. And the subject of this thread, statins. Again, much, much better caught before it does damage.