Test accuracy aside, isn't finger prick blood draw painful? I've had blood drawn both ways, and finger prick is very unpleasant. I'll pick arm blood draw any day.
I tried a Theranos test once and it hurt like hell.
The problem want the finger prick itself. The problem was that the nanotainer isn't that small and that they had to squeeze REALLY FUCKING HARD for quite a while to extract enough blood. It hurt for a while afterwards, too. And it was slow.
funny, i never thought about it (and Theranos seems to has never too :) - the smaller the hole you prick the harder you have to squeeze.
Wrt. the interview - if it were a public co. which i had stock of and i saw that moment at 0:22 - Shriver: "Do you think your company will survive?" Holmes: "Absolutely!" - i'd immediately sold it all. The delay and smile on Shriver's face when she in turn responds to question whether she believes Holmes is also telling :)
Walgreens i can guess is feeling how trial lawyers are gearing up for a class action on behalf of the customers who have had the testing done there.
Time, skill required and volume are all in favor of the finger prick method. And some people absolutely freak out about needles but would be ok with a finger prick.
> Time, skill required and volume are all in favor of the finger prick method. And some people absolutely freak out about needles but would be ok with a finger prick.
Except the pain factor. Finger pricks are actually more painful, particularly when you have to draw more than a single drop of blood. Your fingers have more nerve endings than your upper arm. Also, you tend to use your fingers more than you apply pressure to your upper arm (e.g., typing, using your phone, playing the guitar - all of those require applying pressure to your fingertips, which will hurt).
Even diabetics oftentimes prefer to use the arm pricks, and they need to draw a lot less blood than more elaborate tests need. (Not all diabetics, but enough that there are literally blood glucose monitors that advertise this as a specific feature).
Not disagreeing with you, just saying the finger prick has a lot going for it. In particular the lower skill barrier to do it may make it cheaper or more convenient.
It certainly opens the possibility of self administration up a lot more than a needle.
The problem with self-administration though is misinterpretation. Not to mention that the logic of cheapness/convenience -> more data -> better health doesn't always hold. The more features you screen for the higher the chance of false positives, and most people don't know how to put correct readings into medical context.
All of what you say are true - phlebotomy requires actual skill (try getting blood drawn by a trainee!)
But... I grew up absolutely fearing and hating the finger prick thing the pediatrician would use. I remember getting all sorts of other scrapes and cuts that bled and wondering why they hurt so much less than that thing. From a practical perspective, if I knew a test involved that (rather than an arm draw), I'd delay and avoid it because of the pain.
Flip side of that is a friend of mine who we could make pass out by having a conversation about needles. I would go for the finger, personally, but the least painful/anxiety inducing method would probably be the best choice.
I don't know what they're screening for, exactly, but there are people who live remote without immediate access to medical care. If they could do this prior to an office visit that may help. It opens possibilities that aren't already, and that's just in the context of the US. Think aid workers around the world, that would have to be easier than maintaining needle hygiene.
My child has diabetes and pricks her finger multiple times a day to check her blood glucose. According to her, it hardly hurts. Then again, she only needs a tiny tiny drop of blood and the lancet used to do the finger prick is very thin.
Yes, but assuming the nurse/phlebotomist uses an alcohol wipe, that's a non-issue (or, no more an issue than back of hand or inside of elbow). But, with a typical blood draw, you have a larger puncture, with a relatively lengthy and deep penetration by needle (vs a prick which is smaller, less deep, and quickly in/out).
