Lab-test provider Quest Diagnostics announced Monday it is expanding a program that allows consumers to order lab tests without a doctor's order.
Sonora Quest Laboratories, a joint-venture between Quest Diagnostics and Banner Health, piloted the program in Arizona in Safeway stores, and Quest Diagnostics is now expanding to two more states.
The laboratory giant provides diagnostic testing services in Safeway grocery stores in five states and will now add Colorado and Missouri to the list.
The company said in a statement the expansion is in response to a consumer trend demanding options to take-charge of personal healthcare.
Patients in Arizona have had access to Quest’s direct-testing program for just over a year. Colorado and Missouri, like Arizona, allow consumers to order diagnostics tests without physician oversight or regulation.
Patients will be able to order about 70 tests without a doctor's order, including HIV and sexually transmitted disease tests, as well as panels related to heart health, hepatitis and diabetes.
