jayparkinsonmd: Worried About Cholesterol? Order Your Own Tests - WSJ Cheryl Lassiter likes to keep a close eye on her cholesterol levels, but with a high-deductible insurance plan, she doesn’t want to pay the fees for repeated checkups by her doctor. So a few times a year, she orders up a lab test herself, using an online service that charges about $40. “You cut out the middleman,” says Ms. Lassiter, 56, a writer who lives in Hampton, N.H.  Most people get lab tests after a doctor recommends them during a visit. Now, a small but growing number of consumers are skipping the time and expense of seeing a physician and are ordering up their own tests, with heart-related assays among the most popular. For some, it’s a way to keep track of measures that they want to regularly monitor, such as cholesterol levels or the blood-sugar indicator known as hemoglobin A1C, which is important to people with diabetes. For others, a broad-based panel of tests may provide a quick snapshot of overall health, or a particular test could address worries about the presence of a possible condition such as hepatitis C. In addition to Dr. Google, available 24/7, you are getting more and more access to managing your own health every day. It’s going to be interesting to see how the medical community reacts to this. It’s a real threat to their power and control, especially the power doctors have over your wallet. // Awesome! I always said, I want to know about my health like I know about my bank account: online, always available, detailed.
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Worried About Cholesterol? Order Your Own Tests - WSJ

Cheryl Lassiter likes to keep a close eye on her cholesterol levels, but with a high-deductible insurance plan, she doesn’t want to pay the fees for repeated checkups by her doctor. So a few times a year, she orders up a lab test herself, using an online service that charges about $40.

“You cut out the middleman,” says Ms. Lassiter, 56, a writer who lives in Hampton, N.H.

 Most people get lab tests after a doctor recommends them during a visit. Now, a small but growing number of consumers are skipping the time and expense of seeing a physician and are ordering up their own tests, with heart-related assays among the most popular. For some, it’s a way to keep track of measures that they want to regularly monitor, such as cholesterol levels or the blood-sugar indicator known as hemoglobin A1C, which is important to people with diabetes. For others, a broad-based panel of tests may provide a quick snapshot of overall health, or a particular test could address worries about the presence of a possible condition such as hepatitis C.

In addition to Dr. Google, available 24/7, you are getting more and more access to managing your own health every day. It’s going to be interesting to see how the medical community reacts to this. It’s a real threat to their power and control, especially the power doctors have over your wallet.

// Awesome! I always said, I want to know about my health like I know about my bank account: online, always available, detailed.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

29 Notes/ Hide

  1. thuc said: i would love to have these kinds of point of care devices to use on my patients. its faster, cheaper, and more convenient for all parties involved.
  2. mikailov reblogged this from jayparkinsonmd and added:
    // Awesome! I always said, I want to know about my health like I know about my bank account: online, always available,...
  3. mindbabies reblogged this from jayparkinsonmd and added:
    I’m pretty impressed by this concept, but machines and the internet will never be able to replace the care and love...
  4. wesworld reblogged this from jayparkinsonmd
  5. jayparkinsonmd posted this