Quick Summary of Blood Test Results
Blood test results are confusing.
In a survey, we found that unless you had a medical background, the majority of people simply don't understand blood test results and that creates fear. Not to mention additional time and money in follow-ups.
When your report looks like this, it's no wonder why:
While I could go through and tell you about each of these individually, I would like to show you a better way to look at normal blood test results.
Not only do you get the idea right away, you also see tracking over time (how blood work was intended to work), and a breakdown of what that biomarker means.
Traditional Blood Test Results Cost
Traditional blood testing for uninsured Americans can run between $500-$1500. The cost increases when you consider time lost in scheduling, driving, waiting rooms, and follow-ups. A doctor must also sign off before getting the lab work done. The costs add up.
At-home testing offers a cost and time-effective solution. Home use tests allow you to test for some diseases or conditions at home. These tests are cost-effective, quick, and confidential. Home use tests can help:
- Detect possible health conditions when you have no symptoms so you can get early treatment and lower your chance of developing later complications (i.e., cholesterol testing, hepatitis testing).
- Detect specific conditions when there are no signs so you can take immediate action (i.e., pregnancy testing).
- Monitor conditions to allow frequent changes in treatment (i.e., glucose testing to monitor blood sugar levels in diabetes).
While many people will say they "feel fine," they often also feel like they could be doing better healthwise. Feeling "fine" is just that - a feeling. Feelings are subjective, and the truth is - you don't know until you take a look "under the hood."
Simplified blood test results help you do this in a meaningful way.
Using A Personalized Dashboard To Monitor Your Results
Using a dashboard to track your results comes with some significant advantages. To name a few:
You have access to your history, telling you when and where you have gone off track.
The ability to monitor a disease or condition (such as diabetes) allowing you more control over your treatments.
Objective data telling you if a treatment, prescription, or lifestyle modification is truly working or not.
The ability for you or your doctor to make data driven discions around your health.
A customer we were speaking to told us the story of how he was tracking his PSA on a regular basis. PSA is prostate specific antigen and is one of a few tests that can help determine the health of the prostate and possibly warn you of forthcoming cancer or other issues.
Traditionally, if the test is above 4 - it's considered above normal and warrants further investigation. However, since he had been tracking it for close to 7 years, he could see that he had been over 4 for the entire 7 years. When he showed the graph to his doctor, the doctor canceled the scheduled biopsy and even said this type of tracking "was the future".
The point is, people aren't statistical ranges. Yes, the majority will fall into the normal ranges, but some float above or below their whole life yet live a full life. A good example is a cholesterol. There are many people the have high LDL yet still live to their 90's.
The problem is, without historical tracking, you really have no way to know. Also, the majority of people surveyed said that "they had no idea where all their old tests were, or how to gain access to them".
The Rise Of Direct To Consumer Medicine
The millennial generation has a majority distrust towards the medical system compared to baby boomers. That mistrust is fueled by rising costs, paradigm shifts in wellness thinking, and data privacy concerns.
Statements like these are becoming more common:
"I am healthy. I'm 30, I go to the gym two or three times a week, I eat plenty of vegetables, and I'm lucky to have never suffered from a serious illness. However, I also have this nagging sense that I could be fitter, stronger, more resilient to colds. I could be less tired, less prone to mental fogginess. I could be more optimal."
The demand for more control, privacy, and cost-sensitive solutions is driving the direct to consumer blood testing market.
At-home blood tests are part of a more significant healthcare trend toward improving patient access to medical services while reducing their cost. The market for DIY medical tests is rapidly growing: It's projected to reach $340 million by 2022 as existing tests become more affordable compared to traditional routes, and scientists develop entirely new tests.
On an economic level, direct-to-consumer (DTC) medical tests could help low income or rural families access affordable medical care, no matter whether they're insured, and reduce healthcare costs overall.
Traditional Results Require A Medical Degree To Understand
When you first get your report back, the first question that comes to mind is, "what's wrong and how do I tell"? Lab Me works to solve that by making it glaringly obvious and easy to understand whats super and whats not.
Clarity provides instant peace of mind in knowing that action can be taken immediately. It gives the power to make the necessary lifestyle changes and monitor those changes with the most robust data possible - your blood.
Why Lab Me Analytics?
Lab Me Analytics offers low cost, at-home blood testing. By automating the doctor's sign off, it not only saves you time but considerable amounts of money.
It comes in handy when estimating your overall health condition. Keeping in mind that lab results may often come outside of the normal range for different reasons. Abnormal numbers may be relevant to the following things:
- Age
- Food choices
- Race
- Gender
- Physical exercises
- Menstrual cycle
- Sample collection problems and handling the sample
- Smoking
- OTC drugs (aspirin, vitamins, cold pills, painkillers, antibiotics, etc.)
- Prescribed medication
- Consumption of alcohol
Many reasons that are not related to a disease. However, always ask your doctor about any unusual and abnormal lab results.
A single blood test is not enough to diagnose or cure any health condition or disorder. However, it can come handy when you have to get more insight into your health. You can also know the potential issues in the early stages when it comes to updating personal habits and treatments that work well.
Additional Reading
