Here’s the deal: I want a sperm count, as Mrs. Rastahomie and I haven’t gotten pregnant after three years of not really trying, but certainly not avoiding it either. Dr. Albracht, D.O., won’t order one until we’ve really tried for a year.
Understanding Dr. Albracht’s role as a “gatekeeper” for the HMO I belong to, I respect his reluctance to order expensive lab work without good justification. But OTOH, I don’t want to wait a year to see if my “swimmers” aren’t up to par, either. Therefore, I’m willing to pay for a sperm count myself, out of my pocket, IF a lab will do it.
So, does a lab have to have a physician’s orders to do a test on a patient? Or can the patient request it himself, as long as he’s willing to pay the bill?