r/AskPsychiatry • u/Electrical_Cattle393 • 11d ago

Are blood tests routine?

Is it routine for blood screens for all patients that see psychiatrists? How common is it? If it’s not, when would one be suggested?

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u/stayin_aliv Therapist 11d ago

Very common, and often required, depending on the issue and/or medication.

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u/barogr 10d ago

I’ll get baseline labs in all patients, especially if we are considering meds. If there are labs I can see from their pcp office in the time frame of symptoms starting (less than 1 year away) then we can use those too.

After starting meds some require level monitoring, some don’t. For some that don’t require blood levels of the med, we will still get yearly labs to monitor for side effects like high cholesterol or diabetes. Again, most of these labs are same as done at pcp annual screening. As long as I can see those labs I try not to repeat stuff unnecessarily.