What do you think about online laboratories? There are so many out there (similar to a recent post about online pharmacies), and I'm curious if anyone has tried them, and have found them credible?
I am worried about people ordering their own lab tests without a doctor's approval or recommendation, for many reasons:
1. Self-diagnosis is not always the best way to go. I think the ideal is to have a healthy patient-doctor partnership.
2. False-negatives and false-positives. Tests have different rates of "false" results based on a number of factors, that they lay person is unaware of.
3. Actual results. There is a reason for pre- and post- test counseling for many tests, including HIV, and I can not imagine receiving the test results online without a health care provider reviewing the results in context of my health history, as well as treatment options, and how to prevent further disease or infection.
What do you think?