I'm not a doctor but I went to university and took chemistry, biology, mathematics and whatnot. I'm also an informed person who knows how to google "what is a m

I'm not a doctor but I went to university and took chemistry, biology, mathematics and whatnot. I'm also an informed person who knows how to google "what is a metabolic panel" and understand the information presented. Considering this, I'm qualified to request a metabolic panel for myself. It's just a series of diagnostics and there's no reason not to have it done. The tests did indeed show the beginnings of a problem that is correctable but is harder to fix if I would have waited until actual clinical symptoms showed up. One problem with health care that is that the model of doctor as gatekeeper is not scalable. This problem will not go away with any sort of health care reform. There are simply too many humans in the world for there to be a reasonable patient to doctor ratio. You should be able to go into a booth at Wal-Mart and get a metabolic panel, celiac test, blood-born STD, and whatever else for between $50-$100. If something weird shows up you can schedule an appointment with a GP. The system now is the opposite, and is a waste of time for everyone involved.