Why ordered tests get stuck
Lab and imaging coordination at home starts after a clinician orders a blood test, an X-ray or a circulation study. The order has to reach the right place, an appointment has to be made, you have to get there, and the result has to come back. For someone who uses a walker, cannot manage stairs or depends on a ride, any of those steps can stall.
Coordination means working through those steps with you: finding out where and how the test can be done, arranging the logistics, and making sure the result reaches the treating clinician. Gateway does this coordinating work. The clinician decides which tests are needed and what the results mean.
Tests that often come up during wound recovery
A wound that is slow to heal raises questions that sometimes only a test can answer. The treating clinician chooses what to order. Common examples include:
- Blood sugar measures, because high blood sugar can slow healing
- Blood counts and other blood work used when infection is a concern
- Kidney function and nutrition-related blood work
- A wound culture, collected by a clinician
- X-rays or other imaging when there is a question about the bone under a wound
- Circulation studies of the legs, before compression or when a foot wound is not improving
Not every wound needs every test. If you are unsure why one was ordered, ask. Our guides on blood sugar and wound healing and circulation tests before compression explain two common reasons.
How a test gets done when travel is hard
There is no single answer. It depends on the test, where you live and which services reach your address.
Blood and urine tests
Some samples can be collected where you live. Depending on the practice, the plan and the location, that may happen during a clinician’s visit, through a home health nurse who is already seeing you, or through a laboratory’s mobile collection service. In skilled nursing facilities, collection is usually handled through the facility.
X-rays, ultrasound and other imaging
In some situations, portable services can bring an X-ray or an ultrasound study to a home or facility. Other tests, such as CT, MRI and many vascular studies, need equipment that stays in a hospital or imaging center. For those, the work is choosing a location you can physically get into, booking a time that suits you and your driver, and lining up a ride. The questions in our guide to planning transportation for wound care apply to a test appointment too.
What Gateway arranges
When a Gateway clinician or your own physician orders a test, Gateway helps with the steps around it:
- Confirming the order is complete and has reached the lab or imaging provider
- Finding out whether the test can be done where you live or needs a trip
- Scheduling, and coordinating with home health or facility staff when they are involved
- Helping arrange transportation when a trip is needed
- Passing along preparation instructions from the ordering clinician or the testing site
- Following up until the result is back with the treating clinician
We do not order tests, read results or decide what happens next. Questions about benefits and cost go to the testing provider and your plan.
Getting your results
A test only helps once someone acts on the result. Before the test, ask the ordering clinician’s office how and when you will hear, and who to call if you do not. Do not treat silence as a normal result. If the timeframe you were given has passed, call the office that ordered the test.
Tell each office involved in your care about tests done elsewhere, so the same blood work is not repeated without a reason.
Changes that should not wait for a test
Call the treating clinician’s office promptly if you notice fever or chills, redness spreading from a wound, new drainage or odor, or new numbness. The guide to signs of wound infection describes what to watch for.
Call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, heavy bleeding, fainting, sudden confusion, signs of a stroke, or a foot or leg that suddenly turns cold, pale or blue. Gateway is not an emergency service.
How to start
Call 314-325-0126 or ask for a callback. Have the name of the clinician who ordered the test and, if you can find it, the order itself. The web form collects contact details only, so share the rest by phone.
If no clinician is currently following your tests, we can help with finding a primary care clinician.
Common questions
Can blood be drawn at home in the St. Louis area?
In many cases it can, but it depends on the order, your address, your plan and which services are available to you. When home collection is not possible, we help plan a trip to a draw site. Tell us what makes travel hard, such as stairs, a wheelchair or oxygen, so the plan fits.
Do I need to fast or prepare before the test?
It depends on the test. Some blood tests require fasting and some imaging studies have preparation steps, while many need nothing at all. Follow the instructions from the ordering clinician or the testing site, and ask before changing how you take any medication.
Who explains the results to me?
The clinician who ordered the test, or that clinician’s office. Gateway staff can confirm that a result has arrived and help you reach the right office, but we do not interpret results. If a result shows up in a patient portal first, write down your questions for the clinician.
What if I had the same test in the hospital recently?
Say so. Recent results from a hospital or rehabilitation stay may answer the question without a new test, or give the clinician something to compare against. Gateway can help request those records for the treating clinician, who decides whether the test still needs repeating.
Related pages
General information to help you talk with your own clinician. It is not medical advice, and the treating clinician makes every clinical decision. For a medical emergency, call 911.