At home INR testing

[Franklin]

Hello VR community. Hope everyone is doing well.

After being on Coumadin for 9 months (mechanical valve) I'm finally looking into doing my INR testing at home. What are your experiences with home testing? Which brand of home testing machines is good and which should I avoid? Are there any downsides to testing at home?

I'm thinking of getting the Philips machine because I generally like Philips products and the machine seems small enough to travel with.

 

[Bina]

Chances are you will end up with a new machine like the INRatio2 or the Coaguchek XS.
Both are accurate and reliable; check with your insurance. Good Luck.

 

[dick0236]

I have tried home testing twice. Each time I tested for about one year. First time....INRatio(Phillips?), second time....Coaguchec XS(QAS). Both machines were easy to use, accurate and convenient. My problems where dealing with the Administrators of the program(Phillips? and QAS) and the Medicare insurance program. If I could buy the machine and supplies outright, at a decent price, and not have to deal with insurance or programs that required "calling in" results, I might try it again......on the other hand, I have -0- copay at my docs office which is almost accross the street from my home, so I have no incentive to home test.

 

[JimL]

I have been looking into getting my own machine because my copay recently increased to $10 a test; since I have been testing weekly (it was free!), that's roughly $500 a year. I found a company which will furnish me with a machine, etc, for roughly $80 a month, about twice what I'm now paying. It's the "etc" that ups the cost, which includes calling in my results and receiving "expert" advice on what doses to take. I'm still pursuing the wild goose of a program that will furnish me the machine at a reasonable cost, without the "etc." Wish me luck. I found a Coaguchek XS on Amazon for a little over $1000, which is not much different from my copay (since I have to meet a deductible at the beginning of the year); curiously, it comes with roughly three years worth of test strips; don't they expire after 18 months? There are also cheaper ones on ebay. For right now, I'll continue going to my coumadin clinic which is convenient, staffed with friendly people, and fits my schedule.

 

[Franklin]

Hmm. So it sounds like it's not all that much more convenient and that it's expensive. Thanks for the feedback. I guess the next call is to my insurance company.

How much blood do you need to put on the test strips? Is it like diabetic testing?

 

[dick0236]

How much blood do you need to put on the test strips? Is it like diabetic testing?

Yep, it takes a blood sample about as big as a diabietic test....but you only do it weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, not several times a day.

 

[AgilityDog]

Depends upon your insurance deductible, for 1 thing.
My deductible is $3000 annually.
Philips was charging me $250+ per month against my deductible - that's $3000 annually, with the call in garbage.

I bought my InRatio for $750 new online. I buy my strips online for about $200 for 48 strips. My machine is now 3 years old, and I'm way ahead of the game.

My cardio lets me self test, and after working with the manager for 2 years while I was "renting" through Philips, lets me self manage, with the ability to call in to qualified coumadin manager nurse if I have questions or problems.

 

[hook]

I have a coaguchek xs, and it is not accurate. I have checked it against blood draws about 7 times, and it was .4 to.6 over the lab. I have used different labs and it is always over.:confused2:

This has gone on since the machine was new. The company said within .7 is acceptable error, and I say BS. What they say is acceptable error is the difference between fine and stroke. Even though the machine was new, they would not replace it.

I have nothing nice to say about coaguchek.:mad2: I made a mistake by calling Inratio when I first complained, and they were going to set up a return until we determined I had the coaguchek.