Community Pharmacies to Provide Low-Cost Lab Tests

Community pharmacy patients will soon have access to low-priced health screenings and lab tests without a prescription.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) is collaborating with Ulta Lab Tests to offer 23,000 independent community pharmacies access to more than 1600 lab tests and health screenings through an online platform.

NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA, stated that this arrangement “will allow community pharmacists to continue their commitment to driving better health outcomes for patients by giving patients direct access to information about their own health at lower costs,” and also “give community pharmacists a chance to diversify their patient service offerings and business opportunities.”

Using Ulta Lab’s personalized and confidential dashboard, patients will be able to order lab tests and health screenings from websites and mobile apps, view test results, track progress, and share the information with their pharmacist.

“With 70% of all diseases being diagnosed from blood testing, pharmacists and their customers now have the ability to monitor health conditions,” stated Ulta Lab CEO John Roehm.

These services will also reduce health care costs for patients, as lab tests and health screenings provided through the resource are discounted up to 80% off their regular price.

Other benefits for patients include test result receipt within 1 to 2 days and access to more than 2100 state and federally certified blood-draw centers for specimen collection.

“The community pharmacies that expand their practices and find unique niches are the ones that will succeed in today’s rapidly changing health care landscape,” Hoey stated. “This new collaboration with Ulta Lab Tests is a good place to start.”