Sprinter Health Launches at-Home Lab Appointments in LA County

On-demand mobile health platform Sprinter Health on Wednesday (Dec. 1) debuted its at-home lab service that sends nurses and phlebotomists to the patients’ homes for lab checks, vitals checks and COVID-19 testing across Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the U.S.

The expansion into Los Angeles County increases Sprinter Health’s reach to more than 10 million people in Los Angeles and its surrounding cities.

Families can get COVID-19 test results in 15 minutes or less for $99 for the first test and $50 for additional tests during the same visit.

“It’s difficult enough to prioritize our own healthcare on top of making sure our children and aging parents are getting whatever tests they need,” Sprinter Health CEO and Co-Founder Max Cohen said in the company announcement.

“So many of us are already overbooked with appointments and obligations — the last thing we want to do is spend two or more hours fighting traffic only to sit in a waiting room for lab work that will take days to get back to our primary physician,” he said.

Sprinter Health says it’s reduced the average time for blood draw appointment to less than six minutes from the time a phlebotomist arrives to their departure. The company raised $33 million in Series A investments in October.

Related: Digital Diagnostics, In-Home Lab Tests Make Final Mile of Connected Healthcare Possible

Cohen told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in October that focusing on the patient-customer experience is where connected healthcare holds some of its greatest promise. Trust — or the lack of it — is one of the biggest factors that’s holding back a more rapid connected evolution. He envisions connected healthcare ecosystems, powered by real-time data.

Also read: Sprinter Health Aims to Solve Healthcare’s Last Mile With On-Demand Lab Tests

The “last-mile” concept isn’t just about retail. It’s also present in healthcare through scheduling the appointments, getting in the car and making your way to the doctor or provider.

“A lot can be done to solve the problem of access in healthcare,” Cohen told Webster. “How can we try and get these critical diagnostics, especially these new generations of tests, to patients in a way that’s affordable, accessible, flexible — driving a great patient experience?”