Physicians Wellness Network Launches Consumer-Selected Lab Testing Platform on Microsoft HealthVault
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., March 27 /PRNewswire/ — Now consumers have even more options and greater access to health and wellness information thanks to WebLab — a new, consumer-selected lab testing service offered by Physicians Wellness Network (PWN). WebLab launched today on Microsoft HealthVault, a free Web-based platform designed to put people in control of their health data.
“WebLab makes it easy, safe and affordable for people to directly order common, general wellness lab tests. Our national network of physicians believe that better informed consumers make better health choices,” said Brent Blue, MD, president of PWN. “People no longer need to go through the lengthy, and often expensive, process of scheduling multiple doctor’s appointments with all sorts of co-pays to get basic wellness tests. Instead, they can use the trusted services of WebLab and be assured that the tests are being conducted in a medically compliant manner with physician oversight.”
Medically Compliant, Consumer-Selected Lab Testing
One of the ways that consumers will be able to discover WebLab is through HealthVault Search action modules. These mini-applications are displayed alongside search results and are relevant to a customer’s search query. These will allow consumers to order up to four basic wellness lab tests for heart health, general wellness, prostate cancer and diabetes starting at $54.95.
After the order is placed, a PWN physician in the consumer’s own state reviews the order. The consumer can then visit a nearby laboratory drawing station for a blood sample, or a phlebotomist can conveniently take the sample at the consumer’s own home or office.
Lab tests results are then reviewed by the same physician who approved the order and forwarded to the consumer in a matter of hours from the time the specimen is collected. Results are easy to understand and securely stored for consumers to compare and trend future lab test results. In the event of a critical value (abnormal test result) PWN will contact the consumer directly.
“Consumers and their caregivers deserve tools that allow them to access and make sense of important health information,” said Peter Neupert, corporate vice president for the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft Corp. “Building on HealthVault, WebLab has developed an application that quickly pushes lab results to physicians and their patients which ultimately encourages a more integrated and collaborative way of making better health decisions.”
Without WebLab, consumers need to make multiple arrangements with their physician’s office for a lab test: meet with the physicians to order and authorize the tests, arrange the logistics of a blood draw and finally, set up an appointment days or even weeks later to receive results.
WebLab is a safe and secure Internet platform with lab orders and results processed in a way that is medically responsible and compliant with state & federal government and HIPAA regulations, including privacy. PWN’s WebLab platform is available to consumer aggregators like HealthVault, who benefit from a turnkey lab services portal that connect consumers, physicians and laboratory professionals.
About Physicians Wellness Network
PWN is a network of 250 credentialed physicians who share a common vision: that informed consumers improve the patient-physician dialog and exhibit healthy behavior. PWN was founded in 2001 by a physician and a healthcare executive in partnership with a national clinical reference laboratory with the mission to connect consumers with their own health information in a regulatory, compliant manner. For more information, call 1.888.362.4321 or visit http://www.physicianswellnessnetwork.com/.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Physicians Wellness Network
CONTACT: Suzanne Fedoruk of Fedoruk & Associates, Inc., +1-612-861-7807,+1-612-247-3079, sfedoruk@comcast.net, for Physicians Wellness Network
Web site: http://www.physicianswellnessnetwork.com/