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Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

wsj.com

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Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#61

Post by hanklazard »

frozenport wrote: post #7

>>Theranos claims that the usual delay of testing in centralized laboratories is approximately 3 days and that they will generate and deliver their data much faster (e.g., within 4 h). The 3-day delay claim is not accurate. The bulk of laboratory testing in centralized laboratories is completed within an hour or two (calculated from time of sample collection to time of results posting for physician review). For examp…

Seems to me like this quote from the paper is not making a fair comparison. As far as I know, the main market that Theranos is targeting is outpatient / home testing. Yes, of course central labs in a hospital setting get simple and/or common tests back within a few hours--inpatient medicine involves a higher level of illness severity and thus a higher priority on lab values. I work with one of the major outpatient laboratory companies on a daily basis and I'll tell you that their basic results are almost always back within 24 hrs and stat labs are back within three hours of the runner picking them up. In fact, probably half of our wait time is from the pick-up schedule (late in the day) and had nothing to do with these "older" technologies taking too long.

That being said, this particular lab company provides horrible customer service and our nurses probably spend more than an hour on the phone with them every week trying to troubleshoot very simple situations. For this reason, I've been hopeful about Theranos' potential to bring some meaningful competition to the market. We'll see.

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#63

Post by webmasterraj »

OopsCriticality wrote: post #59

Seems only sporting to also include a link to their PR response to the WSJ article: https://www.theranos.com/news/posts/statement-from-theranos Typical PR drivel. It's also a bit rich to complain about scientific inaccuracy, and boast of opening things up to the FDA, when the Theranos testing platform remains to be thoroughly investigated in the peer-reviewed literature.

> Theranos presented the facts to this reporter to prove the accuracy and reliability of its tests and to directly refute these false allegations, including more than 1,000 pages of statements and documents. Disappointingly, the Journal chose to publish this article without even mentioning the facts Theranos shared that disproved the many falsehoods in the article.

Then why doesn't the statement say what these facts are?

This reads more like an attack on the former employees who spoke up than a scientific rebuttal of the article. Which leads me to think even more that the article is right.

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#64

Post by hockeybias »

cowsandmilk wrote: post #55
sremani wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the article, this quote hit me >> Details of the Theranos technology have not been disclosed to scientific journals and for this reason it is not possible to comment. << So they have handful of tests that are FDA approved and then their protocols or technology never went through scientific scrutiny, but the whole company is valued $9billion? This is disconcerting.

What I find disconcerting is the faith Walgreen's has put in them. To be honest, their revenue plus the partnership with Walgreen's likely justifies the valuation. It is just that Walgreen's shouldn't partner with organizations for testing that aren't on solid scientific footing.

Agreed.

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#65

Post by thanatosmin »

cjbenedikt wrote: post #62

https://theranos.com/news/posts/statement-from-theranos

"The sources relied on in the article today were never in a position to understand Theranos’ technology and know nothing about the processes currently employed by the company."

This is exactly the problem! Nobody has sufficient information to judge Theranos's technology outside the company, and they're asking the scientific community and public to accept their claims at face value because they've submitted some documents to the FDA.

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#66

Post by OopsCriticality »

Gatsky wrote: post #50

Aside from whether their technology actually works or not, the central premise that cheaper, easier and more frequent testing will improve outcomes is unproven. There are many potential downsides. It might increase health spending through extra doctor visits, the need for repeat testing and more invasive and expensive investigations. But will it actually make anyone's life better? Bear in mind that even a single, obv…

> Aside from whether their technology actually works or not, the central premise that cheaper, easier and more frequent testing will improve outcomes is unproven. There are many potential downsides.

This is an excellent point. Nevertheless, it's very hard to convince patients, and the public, that more tests do not lead to better outcomes. Think on every time there are revisions to the recommended screening criteria for breast or prostate cancer---it's good evidence-based medicine, but there's an outcry from the public every time.

In addition to your considerations of more testing being invasive and expensive, I'd also add that overtesting can lead to interventions that present a non-minimal risk to the patient and ultimately increase M&M.

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#67

Post by [deleted] »

rajacombinator wrote: post #38

No fan of this bizarre Illuminati-backed startup, but this article reads like a well funded hedge fund hit piece. Maybe some players shorting OTC contracts on their stock? The biotech industry is heavily manipulated so if they're facing this kind of opposition, maybe it really does make sense to have guys like Henry Kissinger on the board ...

[deleted]

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#68

Post by ogezi »

rajacombinator wrote: post #38

No fan of this bizarre Illuminati-backed startup, but this article reads like a well funded hedge fund hit piece. Maybe some players shorting OTC contracts on their stock? The biotech industry is heavily manipulated so if they're facing this kind of opposition, maybe it really does make sense to have guys like Henry Kissinger on the board ...

Illuminati??

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#69

Post by sebiche »

vixen99 wrote: post #41
Jerry2 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Well done Theranos, keep at it! Really? What if your family member died because of inaccuracy of Theranos' results? Would you still cheer for them? This whole article is extremely damning. Some stuff just makes your head spin: >Carmen Washington, a nurse who worked at a clinic owned by Walgreens in Phoenix, says she began to question Theranos’s accuracy after seeing abnormal results in potassium and thyroid tests. >…

I thought the 'well done' was ironic.

Sarcastic, even.

Re: Theranos Has Struggled with Blood Tests

#70

Post by danso »

cjbenedikt wrote: post #62

https://theranos.com/news/posts/statement-from-theranos

> The Journal even declined an opportunity to experience the technology themselves by turning down our offer to send proprietary Theranos devices to their offices so they could have a demonstration of tests conducted themselves, and compare the results to those of other testing providers.

I can't believe the reporter didn't take Theranos up on its free offer to collect his blood and analyze it for personal health information that might be useful to Theranos...er, I mean, to the reporter.

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