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Article in NYT on Direct to Consumer Labs Tests, No Doctor Required.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/...-visit-required

Quote:

Two years ago, Kristi Wood was tired and achy and could not think clearly, and she had no idea why.

“I was in a fog and feeling awful,” said Ms. Wood, 49, who lives in Seattle and is an owner of a hiking supply company.

Ms. Wood had her blood tested by a consumer service called InsideTracker, which analyzes 30 hormones and biomarkers, such as vitamin levels, cholesterol and inflammation. After the service told Ms. Wood she had excessive levels of vitamin D, she cut back on a supplement she had been using and said she almost immediately felt better.

Now she has her blood drawn and tested by InsideTracker every four months to check everything from her blood sugar to her B12 levels which, she said, “allows me to be proactive” about her health. The services typically send their customers to a nearby clinic where they can have a vial of their blood drawn and sent for analyses. But InsideTracker also offers customers the option to have nurses show up at their home and draw blood. (Such services are different from another blood testing company that has been much in the news, Theranos, which aims to provide laboratory test results from a single finger prick.)

Home testing services like InsideTracker say they are empowering consumers, allowing them to spot metabolic red flags before they progress to disease. But critics say the services often lack proper medical oversight and convince healthy people that they’re sick, leading to unnecessary testing and treatment.

Those concerns have not stopped people from seeking home testing. The market for direct-to-consumer laboratory tests was valued at $131 million last year, up from $15 million in 2010,according to Kalorama Information, a pharmaceutical-industry research firm.

In December, the New York State attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, accused two companies, DirectLabs and LabCorp, of violating a state law that requires laboratory tests to be carried out at the request of licensed medical practitioners.

Article continues

I am a big fan of using Direct to Consumer Labs, mainly for the cost saving. You don't pay for the office visit, and most tests (like the Vit D I monitor) are cheaper than the regular pricing structure at a hospital or doctor's office...even with insurance. And in this area, they go to the exact same LabCorp facility. States complain about the high cost of health care, yet at the same time restrict cheaper options.