Online lab tests do not become part of your permanent medical record like physician-ordered tests, which follow you when you apply for a new job, seek to obtain employee health benefits, or shop for life insurance.
Getting a "simple" blood test can seem about as simple as getting a mortgage approved. There's the drive to and from the doctor's office, the purgatory of the waiting room and the hour spent shuttling among doctors, nurses and medical technicians. Test results, which may not be ready for a week, may require another appointment. Many Americans are choosing to bypass this scene. The results often are available the next day on the Web. "Time and convenience are quality-of-life issues for me," said Jeannette Leach, 49, a research scientist in Boulder, Colo., who has ordered tests to help monitor her thyroid. "The lab I visit is on the way to work. It opens at 8 a.m. At 8:01 I'm there, and 10 minutes later I'm on my way to work."
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Email notification of the results are sent to you via a secure web link.
