Theranos Lab Testing

Most inconvenient lab. They don’t have location in San Jose or any other places. Worst the Palo Alto one was closed the day I had to take my tests. Ended up taking it as Redwood city while there timing are inconvenient to travel all the way from San Jose. Next time will request my doc to give me papers for other lab rather then theranos.

This is actually a review for their Redwood City location. Theranos has a great atmosphere. It’s clean, upbeat, modern, almost spa-like…basically, nothing like any other lab (Quest, PAMF, etc). The staff is kind and prompt on the two occasions I’ve been. The draw was seamless. I love their app and the fact I can get my results as soon as my doctor. That’s huge.
However, my lack of one star (I contemplated giving only 3 stars. I’d give them a 3.5 if I could) is for how insanely long it takes to get results. It’s ridiculous. My dr ordered the basics — metabolic panel, Cbc, thyroid, lipid panel, Ferratin and vit d. The results took 3 days and one result came back high. It was one that really isn’t good if it’s high but my dr said labs regularly mess up results of that test and not to worry. I didn’t like that answer so I requested a re-​test. I did the metabolic panel again 4 days ago and am still awaiting results. Really?! I called Theranos in RWC and the girl agreed it was taking longer than usual (48 hrs) so she called the lab. She said to check back in a day. I looked at the previous results and the lab they used was UCSF so it’s not like it had to travel far (some tests were done in Salt Lake City?!).
My feedback for Theranos would be: great concept, but if tests take 3−4x as long to get results… what’s the point?! If they fix that, it’s a great place!

Horrible experience. The technician had no idea what she was doing. Kept poking me «fishing» for a vein. My arms ended up soar and bruised. Horrible. I wished I had gone to a proper Lab.

«Yay im a fan»… thats what ⁴⁄₅ stars means here on help. I think that pretty much describes how I feel about Theranos Labs and there process…
This was the first time trying out Theranos Lab Testing. I have tried out a few other blood test companies and they just cost entirely too much money for me to do regular tests. I take prescription medication that requires me to regularly check my hormone test levels. This includes things like Testosterone free and total, estrogen, sex binding hormone as well as a few other tests.
I was actually turned onto Theranos by my doctor who recommended them to me based on the fact that I told him I was broke-​ish. Now the thing that was AWESOME was I could order ALLLLL of the hormone panel based testing, and the price was capped at 59.95 $… if you were to compare this to Labcorp it would be about 3 – 4 times that depending… So theranos was ABSOLUTELY a heck of a lot cheaper…
Fast foward and I took about a 1.5 hour bus journey to the testing center within a Walgreens in Palo Alto. The Theranos Wellness Center is essentially 2 teeny tiny rooms hidden in the corner of the Walgreens pharmacy. It has a «waiting room» and «blood drawing room», both cant be more than 5 feet by 5 feet, VERY SMALL. Anyways when I got there, the woman was dealing with a rather unhappy customer. The customer had like me traveled well over 2 hours to come to Theranos, and it turns out that her doctor hadnt yet faxed the blood test request forms over (in California you MUST have the tests ordered by the doctor)… So I was stuck waiting there for about 20 minutes as the customer and technician were talking about what they could and couldnt do. Finally the lady left and the technitial told me she was suppose to have already left because her shift was over, but she very quickly took my bloods! Which was very nice of her…
Fast forward 4 working days and I got my results… So far i am very pleased with Theranos although its NOT a perfect system. OH, and they DO NOT USE the tiny pin prick method for hormone blood tests, but I believe they do draw less blood!

This was the best experience ever! In and out in 10 minutes! Very clean, nicely decorated, completely affordable prices, efficient and friendly staff! I haven’t been posting many reviews lately but this was such an exceptional experience, it was worth the effort!

Overall I am a big fan of Theranos and what they are doing. I have come here to this Walgreens a number of time. Be warned of you are thinking that it will be a quick in and out, forget it, you might be lucky during the week if you go there while others are working. But if you go there on the weekend expect an hour wait. I have been here on the weekend three time and had to wait AT LEAST 1 Hour each time. And I here right now waiting and it just tipped the 1 hour mark.
Labcorp is looking better and better.
I wish they would get this part of their game fixed, because I like everything else about them.

Pros
— fantastic prices… in many cases cheaper than the *co-​pay* if you go to a regular lab
— cheery techs with gentle hands
Cons
— I’ve come in the morning a couple of times and there’s a waiting line; no appointments. If you wait too long, your fast is much more than 12 hours, and you get super hungry it can actually skew some results.
As a «biohacker» aka «qunatified self» this is my go-​to lab to get regular tests.

My physician recommended that I use Theranos for the lab tests she prescribed on my last visit.
I went in to their Palo Alto Walgreens location on a Saturday morning with my two four-​year-​olds in tow.
The technician was kind and incredibly patient with my curious children. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes and my doctor and I had the results less than 24 hours.
I can’t tell you what a contrast it was to the many blood draws I have experienced in the past.
I am a fan.

Theranos is located inside of a Walgreens and is right next to the Pharmacy department. I came here on a Saturday and did not have to wait long at all. I signed in at the Pharmacy under the sign «Theranos,» and filled out some quick paperwork. Then i was sent to the room next to the Pharmacy. It was a small and cute little room.
A few moments later, I was greeted by Tiffany, the most sweetest and cheery person ever. I walked into this small room and sat in a lounge chair, which was quite comfortable. Tiffany walked me through what she was going to do. I was super nervous because I had to do a venous puncture and I actually never had that done before, so I did not know what to expect. She helped by comparing it to what it may feel like and gave me some advice. Still, I was scared so I kept telling her to wait, but Tiffany was really patient with me. In the end, it wasn’t so bad…
I really liked Tiffany and I’m glad she was the one to do my lab work. She made me feel super comfortable in such a short period of time. She was informative so I knew exactly what was going to happen, how, and what to do after I leave.
Another thing to consider are the prices here. They are much more affordable compared to other locations. This is definitely beneficial for those that do not have insurance or insurance does not cover any labs. I got many labs done (about nine) for about $ 80. But I had a complimentary card so I did not have to pay for anything. Still, I probably would have paid (or my insurance) would have to pay hundreds elsewhere!
Anyways, for those who need to get some lab work done, I definitely recommend this place!

I compared Theranos with Quest by having each lab do identical tests for my annual physical. I found the Theranos process more pleasant although I was surprised that they needed to do a venous puncture instead of a finger stick. Within the same hour, I had the same tests done at Quest where they also did a venous puncture. The big difference was the cost — $ 56 at Theranos for all, unknown at Quest, but probably several hundred. (My insurance will pay for the tests at Quest; I paid out of pocket at Thernos.) The results arrived more quickly from Theranos and they were all comparable except for the vitamin D levels. I’ll return to Theranos.

Imagine a world where medicine is affordable to every American, where lab test costs aren’t off the chart (pun intended) and where those of us who hate needles can have a little finger prick instead of bruised arms from bad draws. We’re talking Theranos.
Tucked inside of the Walgreens Pharmacy is the checkin. It is unassuming, yet welcoming. The checkin process is easy. They take your paperwork and scan it into the computer. None of the old fashioned wait while I type in all your info. Just scan and confirm. That’s it. They hand you a receipt that shows exactly how much you will be charged — no guessing. Forget that pacing waiting for your insurance to send you the surprise bill of hundreds of dollars. You know right then and there how much you’re paying. Of course, you can always check the price of your tests on their website before even entering the store and you’ll see exactly how much each test will cost, both with and without insurance. Anyway, back to the process.
Once confirmed, you take a few steps behind the wall and into a cute little waiting room that feels more like a living space than a lab. A cheery, fresh-​faced tech greets you with a smile and beckons you to come into the lab room where a lounge chair waits for you to nestle in and watch the e-​fish swimming happily in their Sony flat tank on the wall. A quick confirmation of who you are on the computer screen and the tech is off and running. Bingo, bango. Your blood is gone and so are you. It’s that fast, that easy and that pleasant. You leave with a smile knowing that in a few days your Theranos app will notify you of your results that you can take with you to any doctor.
Theranos is freedom — freedom from high lab prices, freedom from scary labs and big needles, freedom from bad surprises and freedom to choose a better way to take care of you. Do yourself a favor and give yourself freedom. It’s the American way.