Can Princess ships' Medical Centers do routine blood tests if guest has lab order?

[cj02]

My friend who will be cruising with us occasionally needs to have a routine blood test done (Prothrombin Time / INR) while traveling.

 

Can the Princess onboard Medical Centers do blood tests for INR when the guest provides a doctor's lab order?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

CJ

Edited September 17, 2019 by cj02

[brisalta]

From https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp

See Medial Assistance section

Our medical centers are primarily intended to provide acute care for illness and accidents that may occur while on vacation and are not intended to provide long term care for patients with chronic illnesses or as a substitute for regular health care.

Our intention is to:

• Provide quality maritime medical care for guests and crew members aboard our ships.
• Initiate appropriate stabilization, diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers for critically ill or medically unstable patients.
• Support, comfort and care for patients onboard.
• Facilitate the timely medical evacuation of patients, if appropriate.

All of our onboard medical facilities meet or exceed the standards established by the American College of Emergency Physicians. Our onboard medical facilities are staffed by full-time registered doctors and nurses. In addition to twice-daily office hours, they are available 24 hours a day in the event of an emergency.

Charges for medical services will be added to your shipboard account, and you will be provided with an itemized account to submit to your insurance company. Important: Princess ships are registered in Bermuda. Verify with your insurer if your coverage applies outside the United States, or purchase appropriate travel insurance.

 

From reading that I doubt they could do what you need, but you could call the Fleet Medical Office at (661)753-2680 and ask them.

[XBGuy]

Why wouldn't he just call Princess and get a definitive answer?

[FloaterBoat]

Doubtful.

 

Playing devil's Advocate...Say Princess cruise can do the blood work...and something is wrong..then what?

[brisalta]

1 minute ago, XBGuy said:

Why wouldn't he just call Princess and get a definitive answer?

 

Because the correct place to call is the Fleet Medical Office at (661)753-2680

Last time I called it was answered as HAL group or some such. Turns out that at least for medical Princess is under the HAL group.

[brisalta]

3 minutes ago, FloaterBoat said:

Doubtful.

 

Playing devil's Advocate...Say Princess cruise can do the blood work...and something is wrong..then what?

 

If it was serious and beyond their capability to deal with the patient would be evacuated from the ship. Means of evacuation would depend on how far from the shore/port the ship is at that point in time and how urgent the condition is.

 

On one cruise from San Francisco to Mexico the Grand swung in close to Santa Barbara so that a Sheriff's boat could evacuate a passenger. The transfer was performed while the Grand Princess was still underway.

Edited September 17, 2019 by brisalta

[XBGuy]

 

3 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

Because the correct place to call is the Fleet Medical Office at (661)753-2680

Last time I called it was answered as HAL group or some such. Turns out that at least for medical Princess is under the HAL group.

 

OK.

 

OP, whatever your friend does, do not have him call Princess.  Apparently, there is nobody there who would be able to direct him to the right place.

 

I am being snotty, and I now apologize.  Brisalta was being very helpful and posted more accurate information while I was in composition mode.

[brisalta]

Princess buries the Fleet Medical phone number in various FAQs. It would be nice if they had one list of phone numbers on a contacts page.

[brisalta]

If you do call Fleet Medical and they say it can be done on board ship also ask them if they know what the charges will be. The ships are registered in Bermuda and Bahamas, if I remember correctly, so they are foreign territory as far as US medical insurance goes.

[FloaterBoat]

17 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

If it was serious and beyond their capability to deal with the patient would be evacuated from the ship. Means of evacuation would depend on how far from the shore/port the ship is at that point in time and how urgent the condition is.

 

On one cruise from San Francisco to Mexico the Grand swung in close to Santa Barbara so that a Sheriff's boat could evacuate a passenger. The transfer was performed while the Grand Princess was still underway.

Exactly. And if this is a possibility, and probable, maybe going on a cruise isn't the best choice. To be out in the middle of the ocean with potential blood issues and a medical staff incapable of addressing it.  When people have to be evacuated from the ship, it throws a lot of things off, scheduling wise, for the other passengers, sometimes even leading up to missing ports. 

[donaldsc]

The rest of the question which was not asked is what medical procedures will be needed and are they available if the test results are bad and show that the patient needs medical care.

 

DON

[brisalta]

1 minute ago, donaldsc said:

The rest of the question which was not asked is what medical procedures will be needed and are they available if the test results are bad and show that the patient needs medical care.

 

DON

 

Also if the patient is evacuated they may not be evacuated to a location that has the best facilities for treating a rare condition.

[peanutter]

I had never thought about it before, but surely longer cruises (month+) which generally cater to an older clientele must have a fair amount of passengers taking blood thinners (thinking Coumadin).  Not sure this is what the OP is talking about, but they would need to have a P-time blood test.  I'm not a medical person, but when my MIL was on it, she had the blood test regularly (every few weeks or monthly) and depending on the result, the doctor would decrease, increase or leave "as-is" the dosage of her medicine dosage.  I can't imagine the medical staff would not perform the test (for a fee).

 

OP,  I hope you get a definitive (positive) answer for your friend.

[brisalta]

@peanutter It could be that people on blood thinners are advised by their medical practitioners to not go on cruises so there may be a lower percentage number of the population on a cruise ship than in the general population ashore.

The FAQ that has medical related answers is at

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/prepare.jsp

 Only a few medically related topics there.  (There may be another FAQ that I have not discovered that has relevant answers). Anything else would need a call to Fleet Medical to ask about if they can handle it or assist in any way.

[idahospud]

1 hour ago, cj02 said:

My friend who will be cruising with us occasionally needs to have a routine blood test done (Prothrombin Time / INR) while traveling.

 

Can the Princess onboard Medical Centers do blood tests for INR when the guest provides a doctor's lab order?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

CJ

Remember, the ship's medical center does not bill insurance. All services are charged to the shipboard account and then it is up to the patient to submit it to their insurance company. It’s considered out-of-network (maybe there are exceptions but I’ve never heard of them) and is usually reimbursed differently than in-network services back at home. Travel insurance might not help in this case either as it would be considered a pre-existing condition. Check the travel insurance policy to be sure.

[Kartgv]

5 minutes ago, idahospud said:

Remember, the ship's medical center does not bill insurance. All services are charged to the shipboard account and then it is up to the patient to submit it to their insurance company. It’s considered out-of-network (maybe there are exceptions but I’ve never heard of them) and is usually reimbursed differently than in-network services back at home....

 

You're correct...the only case I know of where the passenger was not charged was when one of our tablemates broke an arm on a fall on slippery stairs onboard.    In that case, they set her arm (luckily it was a minor break) and did not charge her - probably trying to reduce the possibility of a lawsuit.   

Edited September 17, 2019 by Kartgv

[brisalta]

40 minutes ago, idahospud said:

Remember, the ship's medical center does not bill insurance. All services are charged to the shipboard account and then it is up to the patient to submit it to their insurance company. It’s considered out-of-network (maybe there are exceptions but I’ve never heard of them) and is usually reimbursed differently than in-network services back at home. Travel insurance might not help in this case either as it would be considered a pre-existing condition. Check the travel insurance policy to be sure.

 

Nearly all USA based Medical Insurance would not cover medical expense incurred on a non US flagged vessel as it would be out of country.

Travel insurance may cover it depending on which country the insurance was issued in. You would need to read the fine print.

[brisalta]

38 minutes ago, Kartgv said:

 

You're correct...the only case I know of where the passenger was not charged was when one of our tablemates broke an arm on a fall on slippery stairs onboard.    In that case, they set her arm (luckily it was a minor break) and did not charge her - probably trying to reduce the possibility of a lawsuit.   

 

Lawsuit against whom and in what venue. The ships are foreign flagged so the jurisdiction would be that of the flag.

[denmarks]

I doubt that they would have the equipment to analyze the blood. That would cost a fortune.

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

Lawsuit against whom and in what venue. The ships are foreign flagged so the jurisdiction would be that of the flag.

Princess and CCL have corporate offices in USA.  People can always file a suit and see what happens.  Not advocating; just saing.

[Colo Cruiser]

IMO.............if they ask for an answer from the Princess Main office Princess may determine that they don't want to deal with that onboard and may not want them to sail.

[katisdale]

I had the misfortune of needing to use the medical center while on a 49 day cruise around South America. I had trouble remaining upright and after falling twice ended up in the center. I was pleased by the care I received. I was given a chest X-ray, had my pulse oxygen level checked, received blood work and a urinalysis. After I was diagnosed with pneumonia I received 3 or 4 days of IV antibiotics as well as IV fluids as I was dehydrated. The bill was over $4,000  but worth the cost. If they can do the test you need I believe you would have to visit the physician. The cost to see him was $90 for each visit. The test would be on top of that. Both the physician and the nurses were excellent. I was even given an oxygen concentrator (for a cost of course) to use in my room until my lungs started to clear.

[brisalta]

8 minutes ago, katisdale said:

I had the misfortune of needing to use the medical center while on a 49 day cruise around South America. I had trouble remaining upright and after falling twice ended up in the center. I was pleased by the care I received. I was given a chest X-ray, had my pulse oxygen level checked, received blood work and a urinalysis. After I was diagnosed with pneumonia I received 3 or 4 days of IV antibiotics as well as IV fluids as I was dehydrated. The bill was over $4,000  but worth the cost. If they can do the test you need I believe you would have to visit the physician. The cost to see him was $90 for each visit. The test would be on top of that. Both the physician and the nurses were excellent. I was even given an oxygen concentrator (for a cost of course) to use in my room until my lungs started to clear.

 

Nice to hear from someone with first hand experience of using an onboard medical facility and services.

It would be interesting to see the cost breakdown. Was the oxygen concentrator reusable by the ship or something you owned once they dispensed it to you?

[brisalta]

44 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

Princess and CCL have corporate offices in USA.  People can always file a suit and see what happens.  Not advocating; just saing.

 

It may fall under admiralty law. A total different kettle of fish from what most landlubbers are used to. Then there would be the case of which admiralty law jurisdiction would it fall under.

[katisdale]

The oxygen concentrator was a large floor model that I returned to the medical center when my pulse oxygen level returned to normal. I was impressed by the equipment available. Not only the oxygen machine, the x-ray, lab machine, and IV controller. Quite well equipped, not an intensive care unit, but almost everything you would find in an urgent care center.