← Back to context

Comment by stavros

20 hours ago

You don't need to use this specific blood test, by the way. Any lab near you will test these biomarkers for you.

I live in Canada, despite being free this would be way more complicated to get. I don't want to be political, but just paying for this would be very appealing.

  • I live in Greece, I can go to a lab, order this, and pay for it. I actually did, the other day, though it was free because the government happens to be running a Lp(a) testing program right now.

    Can you not get private labs in Canada?

    • I've always thought you need a requisition from a doctor, you can't just go pay for something, that's the only way I've seen it done. At least I've never seen services like the OP advertised, that's why I was stricken by it.

      (Happy to be corrected)

      3 replies →

    • Interesting that you can do this in Greece. In the US, a doctor has the order the labs. (Direct-to-consumer lab testing technically exists, but is always ordered by a doctor.)

      18 replies →

    • What is the purpose of running lp(a) testing, if i may ask? Just for knowing the risk factor and dealing with it? As far as i know there is no easy way for dealing with it once and for all times (gene editing...)

  • There are easily accessible direct-to-consumer startups in Canada that do this sort of testing.

    I did mine a while back with Nia Health. Every marker on the OP’s list was included. You will have to pay out of pocket, but the cost was not unreasonable when i did it.

    • Thank this looks interesting though I do see it's a very early stage startup (and inexplicably subscription based which appears to just be a naked cash grab).

      1 reply →

  • Lots of Canadians come to the USA as medical tourists and pay out of pocket for treatments they can't get (or have to wait for) at home.

  • I live in Romania. You can have whatever test you want if they can do it. Mostly they can at least in our central area. No doctor's note needed.

  • I’ve used getmaple.ca for this kinda thing. You end up using web chat to ask a NP for what you want and it gets done. All said, lack of private medical care in general has played a big part in stopping me moving to Canada.