Almost all blood tests and most swabs can be done at home: a nurse arrives with a single-use kit, takes the sample and delivers it to the laboratory. The key thing is to check when booking that your specific test is on the home-visit list, and to prepare exactly as you would for the clinic: most blood tests are taken fasting.
Which tests can be done at home
A home visit works for any venous blood test: complete blood count and blood chemistry, hormones (TSH, cortisol, sex hormones), vitamins, ferritin and iron studies, tumor markers, HbA1c, coagulation tests. Swabs for PCR testing and urine tests can also be done at home — urine is collected by you into a container that the nurse brings or that you pick up from the laboratory in advance.
Tests that need equipment or special conditions are not done at home: the glucose tolerance test with repeated timed blood draws (some laboratories still offer it — check), tests that require immediate delivery to the laboratory (for example, some coagulation tests with strict centrifugation requirements), prostate secretion, and cultures that need “warm” transport. The rule is simple: if a sample has to be processed within 30–60 minutes of collection, it is taken in the clinic's treatment room.
How a home visit works: step by step
The standard scenario looks like this. You choose the tests on the website or by phone and give your address and a convenient time slot — usually in the morning, because blood is taken fasting. The nurse arrives with single-use vacuum tubes, draws blood from a vein in 3–5 minutes, labels the tubes in front of you and takes them away in an insulated container. The result arrives the same way as after a clinic visit — by email or in the laboratory's online account — with the same turnaround.
The home visit is charged as a separate fixed fee that does not depend on the number of tests, so it pays to do everything you need in one visit. If you are having several tests at once, make a list in advance so the nurse brings the right tube for each.
How to prepare: what is the same as at the clinic and what matters at home
Preparation rules do not depend on where the sample is taken: 8–12 hours without food for blood chemistry and lipids, still water is not restricted, hormones are drawn strictly at the prescribed time of day. Detailed rules for each type of sample are in our test preparation section.
At home, three more things matter. First, do not have breakfast “just in case” before the nurse arrives: if the nurse is late, the fasting interval still has to be kept. Second, prepare the place: a seated position, a free arm, good light. Third, mention the medicines you take: the morning dose of most drugs is moved to after the blood draw, but this is agreed with the prescribing doctor, not with the laboratory.
Who benefits most from a home visit
Home testing helps in four situations. People with limited mobility or recovering from surgery, for whom the trip to the clinic is a burden in itself. Parents of babies: a child is calmer at home, and venous blood from little ones is taken by the same visiting nurses with paediatric experience. Busy people who have no hour for the journey and the queue but do have 15 minutes at home in the morning. And people on regular treatment monitoring — for example, TSH on levothyroxine or HbA1c in diabetes: a “once every three months without leaving home” routine is easier to keep.
What to ask when booking
To avoid rescheduling, check five things: whether your test is on the home-visit list; how much the visit costs and whether sample collection is included in the price of the tests; at what hours the draw is possible (timing is critical for cortisol and several other hormones); whether you need to buy urine or stool containers in advance; and how the result will be delivered. If the tests are for a child, ask separately whether the nurse works with children of that age.
Safety: what to expect during the visit
A home blood draw follows the same rules as in the treatment room. The nurse arrives in a change of clothes, works in gloves, opens a single-use system in front of you and puts used materials into a sharps container — nothing is left in your home. Tubes are labelled right after the draw, in your presence: this rules out sample mix-ups. If any of these points is not followed, you have the right to refuse the procedure and rebook.
How to choose who to call
Home visits are offered by both laboratory chains and private clinics. Compare them on four points. First, the list of tests available for a home visit: for some it matches the full price list, for others it is noticeably shorter. Second, the hours of the home-visit service — an early morning draw matters for hormones with a strict collection window. Third, how the result is delivered: an online account is the most convenient, as the report is stored there and can be shared with a doctor via a link. Fourth, what the visit fee includes: sometimes sample collection is charged separately from the call-out, and the total changes noticeably.
Regular monitoring of the same markers is a special case. Here one laboratory is the most convenient: the results are comparable with each other, and the history is kept in one place. Why figures from different laboratories do not always match is covered in our article on differences between laboratories.
- Almost all venous blood tests and swabs can be done at home
- Tests with timed draws and “urgent” delivery to the lab are not done at home
- The visit fee is fixed — do all your tests in one visit
- Preparation is the same as at the clinic: fast for 8–12 hours
- Check the time for time-dependent hormones
- For a child — a nurse with paediatric experience
Already have your result?
Upload the PDF lab report to MedProtect — an explanation of every marker will take about a minute.
Frequently asked questions
Can a urine test be done at home?
Yes. The container is picked up from the laboratory in advance or the nurse brings it. You collect the urine yourself following the standard rules — first morning sample, after washing — and hand it to the nurse.
Can blood be taken from children at home?
Yes, visiting nurses also work with children. When booking, give the child's age: babies and toddlers under three need a nurse with paediatric experience and paediatric collection systems.
Is a home test more expensive than a regular one?
The tests themselves cost the same as at the clinic. The nurse's visit is charged separately as a fixed fee, so it pays to do several tests in one visit.
How quickly will the result be ready?
The turnaround is the same as when you give the sample at the clinic: most blood tests are ready the same day or the next day. The home visit does not affect how fast the test is done — only the type of test does.
What if the nurse is late and I am fasting?
Call the laboratory and check the arrival time. The fasting period can safely be extended to 14 hours, and you may drink water. If the wait is longer, reschedule the blood draw for another morning rather than having a “partial” breakfast.
Sources
- Order of the Russian Ministry of Health No. 464n of 18.05.2021 “Rules for conducting laboratory tests” — pre-analytical stage, items 11–12 (in Russian; checked 15.09.2026)
- Rules for preparing for laboratory tests — MedProtect “Preparation” section (checked 15.09.2026)