Any Lab Test Now in Cleveland and in Mentor

Many bypass the the doctor and go straight to the lab

Published: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 4:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 2:05 a.m.

While Washington is deep in the throes of trying to overhaul the nation's health-care system, another development is fast gathering momentum that shows the lawmakers in many ways are pursuing a moving target.

As Lee Bowman of Scripps Howard News Service reports, a growing number of Americans are bypassing doctors and going directly to online and storefront labs for diagnostic testing. Most often they pay for these tests out of their own pocket. The results may persuade the consumer to pursue the matter further with a personal physician but, in any case, the consumer is in charge of who sees the results.

So far, the testing is generally basic stuff – sex, drugs and cholesterol – with sensitive privacy issues. The labs can test for STDs and paternity. Job seekers can find out whether they'll pass the pre-employment drug test many companies demand. And the labs can test the DNA of evidence brought in by a suspicious spouse.

The name of one fast-growing chain of walk-in labs encapsulates the field's business model, Any Lab Test Now. The company says it can generally ha

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