Home Visit Service

• Monday to Friday 8.00am-4.00pm.  The home visit service does not operate on weekends or public holidays.
• Serial home visits with a due date that fall on a public holiday will be rescheduled (usually to the business day prior or the next business day after the due date).

• Patients, family members, or caregivers are not permitted to book home visits directly. All home visit requests must be made by a healthcare provider.
• Any changes to the request must be communicated directly to the Home Visit Administrator by the requesting doctor or nurse and NOT by the patient or family/caregiver.
• All home visit booking requests must be received no later than 3pm on the business day prior to the date that the blood test needs to be collected.
• Awanui Labs is unable to accept home visit bookings that are more than two weeks in advance.
• INR home visit bookings for warfarin monitoring can only be made one visit at a time. Requests for recurring or multiple bookings cannot be accommodated, as testing frequency is based on results. If a new home visit request is received while an existing INR booking is already in place, the existing appointment will be cancelled and replaced with the new request.
• Any change in a patients’ circumstances that will affect the home visit (e.g. patient admission to hospital, change of address) must be promptly communicated to the Home Visit Administrator to avoid a wasted home visit.
• It is not possible to arrange specific times or time frames for a home visit.  As these patients are, by definition housebound, this should not be cause for concern.
• Best endeavours will be made to accommodate the individual needs of the patients; however, these cannot be guaranteed.
• A home visit request cannot be booked unless a request form has been received by the Home Visit Administrator.  We cannot accept bookings via phone call or voicemail messages; requests must be submitted by using one of the following approved methods

Medical centre (GP/RN) instructions

• Generate a blood test E-order using ÉCLAIR & ensure that the ‘Home Visit Request’ box is ticked and complete the Home Visit information requested including a preferred collection date if required.

Hospital or specialist (DR/RN) instructions

• Scan a hardcopy blood test request form and send via email to wlg.homevisits@awanuilabs.co.nz
• In the email message, please include:
  • full patient details (first name, last name, DOB & NHI),
  • the physical address that we are to visit the patient,
  • any issues with gaining access to the property (e.g. dogs onsite),
  • preferred collection date if required and
  • explanation/confirmation that your patient meets the criteria for receiving a home visit (see criteria above).
• Please only scan the form to the Home Visit Service – DO NOT supply the patient with a copy of the form.

Rest home (RN) instructions

• Using the Home Visit booking requirements form (specifically ONLY for use by rest home clinical staff), please complete the relevant sections and follow the instructions as noted. This form can also be downloaded and printed from our website here.
• If you are a doctor or nurse in a general practise, hospital or specialist centre requesting a home visit for your patient who lives in a rest home please DO NOT use this Rest Home form and refer to the instructions above).

• If the patient is confirmed to have not been at home at the time the home visit phlebotomist arrives at the address, Awanui Labs reserves the right to request the patient to attend one of our collection centres.  Details of our collection centres and their opening hours can be found on our website here.
• Patients who no longer meet the eligibility criteria will be discharged from the home visit service and the referrer will be notified by email.
• Patients who miss three consecutive home visits due to being confirmed out at the time the Awanui phlebotomist arrives at the address will be discharged from the home visit service and the referrer will be notified by email.
• Awanui Labs will review regular home visit patients annually to ensure eligibility.  A list of regular home visit patients will be provided to the referring practitioner by email for review of the continued eligibility for home visits (and the frequency of testing for serial frequency home visits where required)

• Patients must ensure that all pets are restrained, and that the mobile phlebotomist can safely access the patient’s home.
• The home visit will not proceed if the phlebotomist is unable to positively identify the patient.  Patients unable to communicate their identification must provide photo ID or have a support person present to confirm their identity.
• Rest homes must provide a staff member to accompany the visiting phlebotomist for assistance and identification of their residents.
• Patients that do not appear to be home at the time of the visit will be left a calling card advising them to present at a collection centre for their blood test or to call the requesting doctor/nurse in extenuating circumstances that require the home visit to be rebooked.