I have for some time thought I’d get a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test done as it sounds like an interesting marker and a test I had done recently indicated a higher than normal Ferritin level which could point to infection. Anyway, i looked online and found a company called medichecks (http://medichecks.com) that would do it. They use the London based “The Doctor’s Laboratory” to take blood and then analyse in one day for a total price of £155.
Today I thought … hell if I’m going to get my blood taken, might as well have my cholesterol tested. I called medi-checks and they were happy to add that on for another £89 (that was offered at a discount as it was my second test). That price point seemed a little high to me and I thought I’d call around for another price point. Out of nothing more than convenience I used the two walk-in clinics I’ve used in the past:
- Medicentre (http://www.medicentre.co.uk/) – cheap and cheerful clinic with lots of useful locations around the city
- Same Day Doctor (http://www.samedaydoctor.co.uk/) – like Medicentre but they all wear expensive suits, talk with better accents, and are Wimpole street which some may believe entitles them to bouts of pompousness.
I believe all three services use the same “The Doctor’s Laboratory” based on Wimpole street for taking the blood. No difference there. What about price? A huge difference! Here are the comparative prices for a cholesterol test:
Medi-Checks - £109 (but reduced to £89 if you are doing more than one test)Same Day Doctor - £140 (I guess someone needs to pay for those suits … might as well be you)Medicentre - £ 50 (less than 1/2 price of Medi-checks and almost a 1/3 of the price for SDD)
I was shocked! In fact it turns out for only £65 you can get a full biochemistry and haematology (including lipids). At Same Day Doctor you’ll pay £190 for this privilege. It’s highway robbery! I called back medicheck and asked them if they had any rationale on why I should pay so much more for their tests. They didn’t have anything to defend their pricing. I decided to cancel my £155 CRP test which they were happy to do for me at a cost of £20 which is only £11 more than it will cost me to get the test done at Medicentre!
If you’re shopping for a test or two please do run some price comparisons first. If anyone has any suggestions on good places to shop I’d be interested to hear.