Patients who have Rheumatoid Arthiritis, Ulcerative Colitis, Psoriatic arthritis, Sarcoidosis and other conditions such as these (auto-immune disorders), are required to take strong medications to control their symptoms. These medications include Methotrexate, Sulphasalazine, Mycophenolate, Azathioprine and Mesalazine (immuno-suppressant medication), to name a few.
These medications as well as doing good, can also cause side effects and so it is important to monitor their use on a regular basis to make sure there are no problems. This is done by sending bloods tests to the laboratory to check that the kidney function, liver function, full blood count and ESR an (inflammation marker) are all within acceptable levels.
This service is called “Near Patient Testing” because instead of the patient having to go to the hospital for all this frequent monitoring, they can have it done at their “nearer” GP surgery and lessen the need to go to the hospital so often.
Sister Everett takes the required bloods and checks the previous results, and that the Doctor is happy for the patient to continue with the medication. The new blood samples are sent to the laboratory and the results return to Dr Maguire who monitors the patient’s progress with the medication. Dr Maguire contacts the patient if there are any problems which mean they have to stop taking that medication for a short time, until the blood tests go back to acceptable levels again.
We have a recall system to ensure that you are called for regular monitoring. However, if you notice time has passed and you haven’t had your review for a while, please contact us and we will give you an appointment.
