Babson Diagnostics has partnered with Cynergy to oversee the BetterWay blood test

BetterWay blood tests will launch in Texas later this year before rolling out nationally

Blood tests determine 70% of clinical decision-making, yet not much has changed in more than 70 years: patients still visit a collection service center for traditional venipuncture, where a nurse or phlebotomist draws tubes of blood from a needle puncture in a vein. Not to mention that it can be difficult to get an appointment, so 40% of people report skipping the test, and a a recent survey found that more than half of Americans report some fear of needles, while 71% require multiple needle pricks for blood draws.

To solve these problems, Babson Diagnostics has developed a new way to collect blood, called Betterway It only requires a pea-sized amount of blood drawn from a fingertip to obtain medically accurate results, and it does not require a phlebotomist to draw blood, so it can be performed in a retail setting.

“Babson Diagnostics purposely designed BetterWay blood tests to create a better patient experience that can help people get the data and insights they need to power their healthcare journey,” David Stein, CEO of Babson Diagnostics, said to VatorNews.

“We’ve reimagined the entire blood testing experience, from collection to sample preparation to analysis, to make blood testing easier, more accessible and less invasive.”

The Austin, Texas-based company, founded in 2017, is ready to bring BetterWay to market, with plans to launch in Texas later this year, but before that it recently announced a partnership with Cynergy Wellness to oversee BetterWay by doctors.

Cynergy is a provider of physician services and technology solutions to support national workplace safety programs, occupational health screening, and employee and consumer health. Services include state-required prior authorization for customer-initiated orders, test reviews to ensure tests are clinically appropriate for a customer, and review of results to screen for test abnormalities or critical values ​​and, if necessary, provide clinical guidance offer in a follow-up investigation. consultation with the patient.

For Babson, Cynergy’s independent physician oversight service includes test assessment, in which a physician reviews a customer’s health information to determine whether a test is clinically appropriate for the individual. If deemed appropriate, the physician will authorize the laboratory test request and the customer may complete the test.

Where appropriate, it will also include authorization as well as assessment of test results when a physician reviews laboratory results for abnormalities or critical values ​​and, if necessary, provides clinical guidance in a follow-up consultation with the client.

“Cynergy Wellness is a nationally recognized and growing leader in consumer health, providing valuable services that create a seamless and safe experience between laboratories and consumers. The company shares our vision that improving access to healthcare leads to more individualized engagement in health and well-being,” said Stein.

“The company ensures that orders are appropriate and that abnormal results (if found) are communicated. We believe it is appropriate for an independent physician to make unbiased, independent clinical decisions on the appropriateness of tests and to be a resource for customers in case of deviations or critical values ​​in test results.”

The BetterWay solution

BetterWay was the result of a partnership between Babson and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.) to develop an FDA-approved collection device that obtains blood samples from a finger prick by developing a patented sample preparation device that eliminates the need for pharmacy teams to treat eliminates monsters.

The device automates preanalytical steps, such as mixing and centrifugation, and also maintains optimal temperature and light control to protect sample quality.

“The preanalytical phase is the most vulnerable part of the overall testing process. Manual handling and preparation in conventional testing introduces human errors that affect sample quality,” explains Stein.

In addition to the collaboration with BD, Babson also has a strategic partnership with global MedTech company Siemens Healthineers; the company is also an investor in Babson, which has raised $65 million in funding.

BetterWay isn’t Babson’s only device: the company also invented a hand-warming device to aid sample collection with a fingertip.

Rolling out BetterWay

Because BetterWay does not require a phlebotomist, this means that blood does not have to be drawn in a doctor’s office, but can be collected at the patient’s local pharmacy; as such, Babson will work with retailers to expand blood testing to pharmacies and other retail locations.

To date, Babson has retail agreements with HEB, one of the nation’s largest independent grocery chains, and two independent pharmacies in the Austin metro area, Peoples Rx and Lake Hills Pharmacy. BetterWay’s initial rollout includes select pharmacies in Austin and will expand to more locations this summer.

The company is also in discussions with other pharmacies to expand BetterWay nationwide, Stein said.

“We like to say that the purpose of innovation is to improve people’s lives. Bringing new healthcare technology to market requires a huge focus on how it will benefit those who use it – the people who fear a blood test and those who skip important tests. because it is not convenient. And let’s not forget the doctors who struggle to get their patients to perform blood tests,” Stein said.

“We want BetterWay to be the blood test people don’t skip. Blood tests provide vital clues about their body and their overall health and well-being. We want to promote the importance of testing and provide a better experience in convenient locations, with easy-to-understand results that will motivate people to get the care they need, when they need it.”