Affordable Blood Work In Four Hours Coming To Pharmacies

[FarCenter]

http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/11/19/1959258/affordable-blood-work-in-four-hours-coming-to-pharmacies

Theranos Selects Walgreens as a Long-Term Partner Through Which to Offer Its New Clinical Laboratory

PALO ALTO, Calif. & DEERFIELD, Ill., September 09, 2013 - Theranos, Inc. and Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) today announced a long-term partnership to bring access to Theranos’ new lab testing service through Walgreens pharmacies nationwide. As the service becomes available through Theranos Wellness Centers inside Walgreens stores, consumers will be able to access less invasive and more affordable clinician-directed lab testing, from a blood sample as small as a few drops, or 1/1,000 the size of a typical blood draw. The samples are either taken from a tiny finger stick or a micro-sample taken from traditional methods, eliminating the need for larger needles and numerous vials of blood required for most diagnostic lab testing.

Theranos and Walgreens are taking the first step in making this service available to consumers with the first Theranos Wellness Center location opening this month at Walgreens drugstore at 300 University Ave. in Palo Alto, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley. The companies plan to offer the service at Walgreens locations nationwide.

For the first time, Theranos is introducing CLIA-certified laboratory services with the ability to run its tests on micro-samples. Theranos’ proprietary laboratory infrastructure minimizes human error through extensive automation to produce high quality results. Test results are available to physicians in a matter of hours, enabling fast diagnoses to help informed treatment choices. Theranos tests are low cost – always 50 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates or less – and are reimbursed by major insurance carriers, Medicare, and Medicaid. Developed to be accessible to everyone, Theranos tests cost the same amount for everyone, regardless of insurance plan or whether they are uninsured.

“For the past 10 years, Theranos has worked relentlessly to reach a point at which we could help make actionable information accessible to physicians and patients at the time it matters most. Clinicians can now see their patients having received lab results from fresh samples in a matter of hours,” said Elizabeth Holmes, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Theranos. “This partnership will further our goal to bring high quality, affordable lab testing to people everywhere, with our new Wellness Centers in Walgreens retail locations closest to homes and workplaces.”

http://news.walgreens.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5794

It appears to be a microfluidic, automated, in-store analysis machine that delivers test results in 4 hours.

the lab test, reinvented.

http://www.theranos.com/our-technology

[NYC_SKP]

1. Better ten years late than never. nt

[FarCenter]

2. They had to wait until the drugstore got out of the instant film developing business

This should fit right in where they used to do that. Instant blood test analysis instead.

[VanillaRhapsody]

3. What about the fasting part?

[djean111]

7. Same as for going to a doctor - they take you on your word.

I can get blood tests for cholesterol done for free, in minutes, at my Winn-Dixie store, here in Florida, several times a year. For another $25, more extensive testing. No waiting for weeks or worrying that each little test is another $25.

[VanillaRhapsody]

8. I was talking about the doctor sending you to them....and the 4 hour turnaround.

[Recursion]

4. And WalMart is trying to put a Nurse Practitioner in every store with a pharmacy

Breaking out of the "everybody go to the central hospital" model is an idea whose time has come, probably...

[Paulie]

5. I've been to the CVS version a few times.

No real wait and fast individual service with a single person. For the cases of strep in the household it was great.

Hospitals better start to offer something like it...

[grasswire]

6. but do you have to see your doctor to get the order?

Or can you request the tests for your own edification?