Fees

Sometimes insurance providers ask policy holders to pay for some aspects of their care. Further investigations are invariably needed to support a clinical opinion. The costs of some of the most commonly used investigations are given below, along with some brief explanation of what may be necessary and why.

If you are funding your own consultation and treatment (without insurance) then sometimes GPs are prepared to arrange the blood tests which may arise, if they feel that these tests would have been needed anyway.

Likewise, in the event that any treatment is recommended, Dr Dakin can either issue a private prescription, or ask your GP to consider prescribing on the NHS. Quite understandably, some GPs are not prepared to action prescriptions or blood tests which originate from a private consultation.

Common investigations

Spirometry will be needed for most patients and may be measured during the consultation. This test measures the volume of the lungs and the airflow during inspiration and expiration, giving an excellent indication of the health of the lungs and airways. Spirometry may be particularly useful for anyone with suspected asthma, COPD, bronchitis, emphysema, shortness of breath, cough and lung nodules, amongst other conditions.

Exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) may be measured in anyone with known or suspected asthma. Nitric oxide is produced in larger quantities in those with asthma, making it a useful marker for this condition. Undiagnosed asthma is a frequent cause of unexplained coughing and / or shortness of breath.

Full lung function testing is a more detailed set of measurements, which may be requested before or after a consultation, including spirometry (as above), but also additional tests, which measure the ability of the lungs to transfer oxygen to the bloodstream.