Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

pfas.report

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 155 posts

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#131

Post by treeman79 »

mdrew wrote: post #102
w10-1 wrote: post #89

Here's the test on NMS: https://www.nmslabs.com/tests/3427SP NMS does not list consumers as their customers, and none of their customers make medical decisions based on their lab work. NMS claims CLIA certification. This is the older law where labs self-certify compliance. Congress left CLIA in place alongside FDA IVD regulations to protect small pharmacists, but obviously Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp run fleets thr…

Ok, a few thoughts. Direct to consumer lab testing is offered in ~47 states in the country. It has been available for years with thousands of tests available. To date, there has been no apocalypse from empowering consumers to know about their own personal health. NMS is one of the preeminent toxicology labs in the country. This test is Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry which is known, quantifiable, extremely ac…

Went to doctors dozens of times with severe but vague symptoms. Was admonished repeatedly for doing my own research. All the doctors get saying it was anxiety, and that I was simply a hypochondriac. After years of this found out I had 3 fairly uncommon conditions that mixed to produce crazy issues. Proper treatment resolved my issues. I’ve met many others who have had similar problems.

Consumers should always be allowed to do their own research.

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#132

Post by azinman2 »

mdrew wrote: post #128
azinman2 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But I cannot order this test myself from NMS, right?

NMS does not offer tests direct to consumers.

Are there labs where I can go in and order arbitrary tests?

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#133

Post by akiselev »

autoexec wrote: post #116

Quest Diagnostics is pretty sketchy. They've been busted for fraud, illegal kickbacks, inaccurate tests, privacy violations, etc. They sell every scrap of data they can get away with to third parties including marketers and it's a lot of data ( https://www.questdiagnostics.com/our-company/privacy/privacy... ) which includes: Professional/employment-related information, products or services purchased/obtained/consider…

They've also contacted my emergency contacts in an attempt to collect payment for blood tests when they made a mistake writing down my insurance information... that was already sent to them by the doctor ordering the test. The link to the receipt in the text message listed enough details about the blood tests to deduce some very private information.

I have never in my life seen a more flagrant and willful violation of HIPAA. It's the only time I have ever contacted my state AG or the HHS.

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#134

Post by vkou »

mdrew wrote: post #122
xracy wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the previous commenter was saying "don't test people" but there are a few comments on here about how sketchy this website/company looks. So instead, the question is, if I pay $400 what meaning/value am I getting from this. And what can I get above and beyond the given 98% certainty I have that I've already ingested one of these chemicals?

I get it. I think it's right there in the post itself. If you have certain occupations, live in certain zip codes, or have medical problems, a test like this can prove invaluable. If you're just curious, your mileage may very. I do push back on the idea that not knowing is somehow better. Or people cannot handle learning new information about themselves. It's an old idea from medicine I hope we can move past as it ju…

> I think it's right there in the post itself. If you have certain occupations, live in certain zip codes, or have medical problems, a test like this can prove invaluable.

Invaluable, as in, worthless?

Invaluable for what? What are you going to do if you test positive?

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#135

Post by mdrew »

vkou wrote: post #134
mdrew wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get it. I think it's right there in the post itself. If you have certain occupations, live in certain zip codes, or have medical problems, a test like this can prove invaluable. If you're just curious, your mileage may very. I do push back on the idea that not knowing is somehow better. Or people cannot handle learning new information about themselves. It's an old idea from medicine I hope we can move past as it ju…

> I think it's right there in the post itself. If you have certain occupations, live in certain zip codes, or have medical problems, a test like this can prove invaluable. Invaluable, as in, worthless? Invaluable for what ? What are you going to do if you test positive?

I encourage you to read the rest of the discussion.

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#136

Post by j2bax »

supportengineer wrote: post #82
DantesKite wrote: post #2

This is really cool. Just being able to take blood tests in general to get a better sense of what might be going on can be so informative.

Imagine the kind of data Quest Diagnostics is sitting on.

Hopefully AI can learn the language and make meaningful discoveries.

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#137

Post by cypherpunks01 »

wtsktte wrote: post #106

I tried to build an adjacent site a while back but couldn't figure out how to automatically generate the blood test. Quest doesn't appear to expose it via API. How are you generating the lab requisition form?

Probably using.. a doctor. That is the only way to legally "generate" any arbitrary lab order. MDs can order lab tests in all US states, and I'm sure other licensed medical professionals have privileges to do so as well, depending on the state.

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#138

Post by xracy »

mdrew wrote: post #135
vkou wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it's right there in the post itself. If you have certain occupations, live in certain zip codes, or have medical problems, a test like this can prove invaluable. Invaluable, as in, worthless? Invaluable for what ? What are you going to do if you test positive?

I encourage you to read the rest of the discussion.

Uhh, you haven't answered this person's question in the rest of the discussion. What is the value of this test over assuming that I have this? What treatment exists that I can get if I know my blood contains PFAs?

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#139

Post by codingdave »

azinman2 wrote: post #132
mdrew wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NMS does not offer tests direct to consumers.

Are there labs where I can go in and order arbitrary tests?

Yep, search for "direct lab testing" and you'll find some vendors, and possibly some local clinics.

But the thing with ordering your own tests is that it is not the only way to get these results. You can simply ask a doctor. They'll order it and help you understand the results and insurance can cover it. Depending on your insurance, that might be cheaper or it might not. There are pros and cons to both approaches mostly centered around how self-driven you want your care to be and whether or not you have a cooperative doctor.

But I would add a general word of warning - raw lab results do need some broader understanding of what the expected results are. They'll typically tell you what numbers are too low/high, but will not tell you what it means if you are outside those limits. For some things, being a slight bit out of the norms is a big deal. For others, unless you are at a few multiples beyond the limits, there is northing to fret over. Knowing which is which is critical to know how to react to test results.

I'm not saying you've gotta work with doctors - I'm saying that they do have a point that self-educated and self-diagnosed patients who learn the info off the internet are not always well-informed. If you are going to go the self-directed route for your health care, take the time to learn deeply and do it well.

Re: Show HN: PFAS.report – Measure the forever chemicals in your blood via Quest

#140

Post by exmadscientist »

autoexec wrote: post #124
mdrew wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only information we use to generate your lab req in Quest is: name dob biological sex phone number

I imagine the bulk of your data is collected when you show up for the blood draw. You have a really nice site, but should defiantly try to find and work with a more ethical and trustworthy lab. On the plus side, when they sold your data they probably had a lot of nice things to say about your intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes!

Quest is one of the two major testing companies in the US. (And LabCorp is not much better.)

I understand the sentiment here, but it's like saying "you should definitely try and find and work with a more ethical political party than the [reader's choice: Democrats|Republicans]". Good luck! It's not likely to happen, even if we all wish otherwise.

Post reply on HN