OP ED

Freedom to get lab tests ushers in better health care

Elizabeth Holmes
AZ I See It

A new Arizona law is now in effect that will serve as a model for a new era of preventive care in our country.

With Arizona's new law —the product of overwhelming bipartisan support and thought leadership by the state's physicians — Arizonans are now able to access and pay for any lab test themselves, without being required to first get a doctor's note in response to a health issue or work through insurance eligibility.

Lab test data drive more than 70 percent of health decisions. Yet most of us know more about our credit card data than we do about our own health. Most of us only begin to focus on getting tests done once we're already sick. And too many of us find out we're sick when it's too late to change the course of disease.

Every person deserves the right to his or her own health information, the right to access that information in time to change outcomes, and the right to engage with this information to change our lives and the lives of those we love for the better.

Today, lab tests are often only reimbursed when the need for those tests are justified by symptoms of illness, which means many tests are ordered only when people are already sick. Even then, the majority of lab test orders don't get filled because services are costly and inaccessible.

Direct access to laboratory tests ushers in a new era of individual empowerment to take control of our own health, to work with our physicians to prevent disease and detect it early, instead of treating illness after it has taken hold.

Direct access also provides visibility into the price of tests, allowing you to choose the lowest cost and highest quality options, fueling competition for better services for everyone.

Arizonans can now get lab tests done in a preventive manner and before your annual physical, to better see changes over time. Simple tests can help your doctor recognize health issues earlier and better provide preventive care. And Arizonans who want to know if they're at risk of conditions like diabetes or heart disease are empowered to engage with their physicians sooner.

I'm proud of this step we've taken in building a new era of preventive care. And I'm also the first to recognize we have a lot of work left to do.

To empower people to engage with their health, all lab test prices need to be transparent. And prices need to be affordable and the same for everyone. Just because someone can't afford good insurance doesn't mean they should be charged more out of pocket.

Tests need to be convenient, and accessible on nights and weekends. Results should be available real-time. And all lab tests should be validated to the highest quality standards — standards set by the FDA — because you deserve results you can trust.

Elizabeth Holmes is the founder and CEO of Theranos, which offers lab tests at 41 Theranos Wellness Centers in Arizona.