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Theranos

theranos.com

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Re: Theranos

#121

Post by [deleted] »

aharrison wrote: post #70
ihnorton wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The diybio mailing list has many interesting discussions: http://diybio.org/

I have looked at the DIYBio groups on a number of occasions, and while they are fascinating it their own right, they aren't quite what I am interested in. DIYBio (as far as I can tell) is considerably more interested in DNA sequencing and genetics, whereas I am more interested in diagnostic tools for improving my quality and quantity of life. An example of something I am interested in is: http://jenslabs.com/category…

[deleted]

Re: Theranos

#122

Post by pdonis »

mr_luc wrote: post #97
spartango wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This board seems heavily geared to do deals for defense-related applications. That's fine; getting deals with the Armed Forces and VA is feasible and quite rewarding. What they overtly lack is connections to the healthcare world. I'm surprised they aren't publicly roped into Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic or Kaiser, as they to support novel technologies in this space. I suppose you can argue that the business model is…

Serious question: what economic incentive does the healthcare world have to adopt something like this? If it's a finger prick, there's less to mark up. From the outside, it seems like the entire healthcare industry is built on being purposefully inefficient so as to create large costs that they can in turn mark up. To the VA, inefficiency is a problem. In the healthcare world in general, it doesn't seem to bother any…

what economic incentive does the healthcare world have to adopt something like this?

Not much, which is why this service should not be offered through the standard healthcare system. I can see two other ways to do it:

(1) I walk into a drugstore, sit down at the testing machine, select the tests I want, swipe my credit card, and the machine takes a drop of blood from my finger, runs the test, and gives me a printout of the results.

(2) Home testing kits for every common lab test, not just blood sugar.

Re: Theranos

#123

Post by pdonis »

spartango wrote: post #92
justinjlynn wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the volumes they're dealing with and the automation they tout I bet they're using integrated microfluidic chips with built in sensor technology. That's so cool and it makes sense given the time they spent in stealth mode since that's a rather new technology and getting it certified must've taken some time. Looking a patents and bingo, they have patents on microfluidic techniques. Awesome. Eventually they might h…

Given that they are going up against massive, automated operations like those of Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics ($9B market cap each), they'll probably need this tech to keep up. While the thumb-prick and low sample volumes are cool, in the grand scheme of patient care they are somewhat gimmicky. Until doctors request higher-frequency testing, this doesn't pinch that hard. Still cool. The big sign that they need to be…

Until doctors request higher-frequency testing

What about patients wanting higher-frequency testing? What if the test machine were sitting in my local drugstore, and I could go in, swipe my credit card, and have it run a test on a drop of my blood whenever I wanted to?

Re: Theranos

#124

Post by pdonis »

pdonis wrote: post #122
mr_luc wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question: what economic incentive does the healthcare world have to adopt something like this? If it's a finger prick, there's less to mark up. From the outside, it seems like the entire healthcare industry is built on being purposefully inefficient so as to create large costs that they can in turn mark up. To the VA, inefficiency is a problem. In the healthcare world in general, it doesn't seem to bother any…

what economic incentive does the healthcare world have to adopt something like this? Not much, which is why this service should not be offered through the standard healthcare system. I can see two other ways to do it: (1) I walk into a drugstore, sit down at the testing machine, select the tests I want, swipe my credit card, and the machine takes a drop of blood from my finger, runs the test, and gives me a printout…

And it looks like the drugstore option is being pursued, according to a WSJ article on Theranos:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732412300457905...

Re: Theranos

#125

Post by ak39 »

pdonis wrote: post #123
spartango wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that they are going up against massive, automated operations like those of Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics ($9B market cap each), they'll probably need this tech to keep up. While the thumb-prick and low sample volumes are cool, in the grand scheme of patient care they are somewhat gimmicky. Until doctors request higher-frequency testing, this doesn't pinch that hard. Still cool. The big sign that they need to be…

Until doctors request higher-frequency testing What about patients wanting higher-frequency testing? What if the test machine were sitting in my local drugstore, and I could go in, swipe my credit card, and have it run a test on a drop of my blood whenever I wanted to?

That's it. No doctors needed. I just chatted to my doctor siblings about this over lunch ... they shot this idea out the water on the premise that it is indeed gimmicky and they wouldn't use it to make any substantial changes to patient treatment based on their results - they'll need "more reliable" testing. I could hardly get a word in! :-)

Except, I kept on saying, maybe the service is offered directly to people - without a doctor's consult.

Hell, what do I know! Nice to see innovation in fields other than information technology though.

Re: Theranos

#126

Post by spartango »

pdonis wrote: post #122
mr_luc wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question: what economic incentive does the healthcare world have to adopt something like this? If it's a finger prick, there's less to mark up. From the outside, it seems like the entire healthcare industry is built on being purposefully inefficient so as to create large costs that they can in turn mark up. To the VA, inefficiency is a problem. In the healthcare world in general, it doesn't seem to bother any…

what economic incentive does the healthcare world have to adopt something like this? Not much, which is why this service should not be offered through the standard healthcare system. I can see two other ways to do it: (1) I walk into a drugstore, sit down at the testing machine, select the tests I want, swipe my credit card, and the machine takes a drop of blood from my finger, runs the test, and gives me a printout…

Note that Quest Diagnostics has a drugstore partnership with CVS[1], directly competing with Theranos+Wallgreens. Labcorp has similar offerings, although some are whitelabeled.

[1] http://ir.questdiagnostics.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=82068&p=irol-...

Re: Theranos

#127

Post by pdonis »

spartango wrote: post #126
pdonis wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what economic incentive does the healthcare world have to adopt something like this? Not much, which is why this service should not be offered through the standard healthcare system. I can see two other ways to do it: (1) I walk into a drugstore, sit down at the testing machine, select the tests I want, swipe my credit card, and the machine takes a drop of blood from my finger, runs the test, and gives me a printout…

Note that Quest Diagnostics has a drugstore partnership with CVS[1], directly competing with Theranos+Wallgreens. Labcorp has similar offerings, although some are whitelabeled. [1] http://ir.questdiagnostics.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=82068&p=irol-...

But these tests still require large blood samples, and they have to go back to the lab to be tested, right? So you can't just walk into the drugstore, get tested, and walk out with the results.
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