HealthSpot, a telehealth provider in retail clinic settings, this week demonstrated point-of-care lab technology from Samsung that analyzes patients’ blood while they wait, using a drop of blood from a finger stick. If the technology wins F.D.A. approval, consumers would be able to go to HealthSpot for cholesterol, diabetes and liver tests and get results in as little as seven minutes, the company said.
Dublin, Ohio-based HealthSpot, which was profiled as one of Healthcare Informatics’ “Up and Comer” companies for 2015, grew from five locations in 2013 to 20 in 2014, and is aiming to close this year with more than 100 locations. It is currently being deployed in retail pharmacies across Ohio.
The company developed a kiosk for use in retail spaces that includes a video meeting with a clinician, but also features a blood pressure monitor, a scale, a thermometer, a stethoscope, an otoscope, a pulse oximeter and a magnascope to look at skin or the back of the throat. Now the company is expecting to be able to automate and integrate lab visits. HealthSpot said the Samsung technology would connect lab results not only with the doctor’s electronic health record but with the consumer’s personal health record and with the consumer’s insurance benefit plan and billing.
At this week’s NACDS Total Store Expo, in Denver, HealthSpot showcased the Samsung LABGEO PT10, a smart, compact clinical chemistry analyzer, which HealthSpot plans to deploy into its stations. It said the LABGEO PT10 would reduce wait times for consumers while requiring less blood from the patient for the analysis.
“Adding labs to HealthSpot significantly enhances our mission to transform healthcare for consumers and providers,” said HealthSpot CEO Steve Cashman, in a prepared statement. “The addition of blood analysis via Samsung’s smart point-of-care technology will allow providers to go one step further for virtual exams inside the HealthSpot station and serve patients better than ever before.”
