Disclaimer: This will be a shorter post, more to put it out there for fellow warfarin users as to how to get a blood test here. It will likely be of little interest to anyone else.

For those who don’t know I had a blood clot a few years ago and because of that I take a daily dose of warfarin (coumadin)  to keep another clot from forming.  This drug requires fairly regular blood tests to monitor your INR levels.  One of those tests was required here in Bogota.  Finding out how to get that test done reliably is always an adventure.

I was lucky enough to meet a girl who had travelled with the same issue in the past who introduced me to IAMAT.  (http://www.iamat.org/)  a wonderful organization which has contacts with reliable doctors around most of the world.  IT is a by donation service and even if you are travelling without a specific ailment I recommend signing up for a membership.

After struggling through a few local and very spanish alternatives I gave them a call.  5 minutes later I had the name, address and phone number of a reliable doctor and a starting point.

I left my hostel and jumped in a taxi across town.  About 45 minutes and 16,000 COP later I was outside Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota.  It took a while to find the right building and doctor but I managed  Basically from the entrance at the main street you enter the courtyard and almost immediately make a left down some stairs.  You walk in the first set of doors make a left and then your last right which will lead you into the tallest building.  The doctor I’d been told to find was on the 6th floor.  I went without an appointment and after speaking broken spanish with his secretary was let into his office.  He spoke perfect english and after making sure I just needed a blood test and not a consultation he wrote out the order on his stationary and directed me to the lab.  Down the elevator to the second floor and back the way I’ve come.  Follow the signs, the lab is in the building directly below those first stairs I took.

The stairs to go down

The view across the street from the complex

that tallest building is where the doctor’s office is.

View from the entrance off the street. Left at the stairs

go in just past where the people are, make a left then a right, or for the lab go in, make a right and follow the signs.

After taking a number and waiting maybe five minutes I was called up to reception.  I presented the paper ordering the INR test and paid up front in cash.  (50,600 COP or just under 30 $ Canadian).  I gave them my passport and my email address and was told to wait again and that the results would be emailed to me the next day.

After another minute of waiting I’m brought in to the blood lab, and quickly have blood drawn very professionally with clean and modern equipment.  No worries there.  The nurses are friendly and helpful and point me to the quickest way out and I was done.  I received the results by email only 6 hours later and I was left impressed with Colombia’s health care options.

Here is the doctors address, and seriously sign up for IAMAT it’s as cheap or free as you need it to be, and if they help you out on the road then think about making a donation.  They have phone numbers in both Canada and the states and also answer queries by email.

Dr. Juan Gomez

Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota

Unidad preventida de viajero

Avenida 9 number 116-20 consultorio 601

5716122378