Practical guides
Practical guidance around blood testing: from fasting to reading your results.
Practical guide
Fasting for a blood test
For some blood values it is important that you fast, for others it is not. Below you read what fasting means exactly and when it is needed.
Relevant values: Glucose · HbA1c · Total cholesterol · Triglycerides
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Reading your blood results
A blood result consists of numbers next to a reference range. Below you read how to read it and why interpretation by a doctor matters.
Relevant values: Haemoglobin · Ferritin · TSH · Glucose
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Blood test without a referral
Would you like a blood test without a referral from your GP? You can. At Bloodworks you arrange your blood test entirely online. You choose which values you want tested, have your blood drawn at one of more than 800 affiliated collection points across the Netherlands and receive your result, usually within 2 working days, reviewed by a registered doctor. In this guide you read exactly how it works, what it costs and what to keep in mind.
Relevant values: Vitamin B12 · Vitamin D · Ferritin · Folic Acid
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Getting a blood test
Getting a blood test has never been easier. At Bloodworks you choose online which blood values you want tested, pay directly and have your blood drawn at one of more than 800 collection points across the Netherlands, usually without an appointment. Your result is normally ready within 2 working days, in a personal report reviewed and explained by a registered doctor. In this guide you read step by step how getting a blood test works, what it costs, where you can go and which blood values you can have tested.
Relevant values: Vitamin D · Vitamin B12 · Ferritin · TSH
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Blood tests and health insurance
Is a blood test covered by your health insurance in the Netherlands? It depends on the route. If a doctor requests the test for a medical reason, it is covered by the Dutch basic health insurance (basisverzekering), but the costs count towards your compulsory excess (eigen risico). If you choose a preventive blood test on your own initiative, you usually pay for it yourself, at a fixed price that does not touch your excess. This guide explains how coverage works in the Dutch system, what supplementary insurance sometimes covers and how to claim with an invoice.
Relevant values: Total cholesterol · HbA1c · Vitamin D · TSH
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Choosing a blood test provider
What is the best blood test? There is no single answer that applies to everyone. You can, however, compare blood test providers in a meaningful way, because the differences come down to a few fixed points: who reviews the result, which laboratory performs the analysis, how the blood is collected, what exactly the price includes and what happens when a value is abnormal. In this guide you read, per criterion, why it matters, which question to ask the provider and how Bloodworks approaches it. That way you compare providers on substance rather than on the first price you see, and you choose the blood test that fits your situation.
Relevant values: TSH · Vitamin D · Total cholesterol · Ferritin
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