One of my favorite memes from this week's X featured two photos: one of war and devastation, and the other of a clean, tree-lined street of middle-class suburban homes. The caption on the first photo read, “This is the reality of life on Earth.” The caption on the second read, “This is an abnormal situation and it could end at any time.”
It's a wonderful reminder of just how blessed most of us are, given thousands of years of human history. It's also a reminder that many of our fears and obsessions, especially those often expressed on social media and in Congress, fall into what my daughter calls “first-world problems.” People express serious concerns and get excited about any innovation that promises to make our lives even better.
This is a grand entrance into a perhaps mundane topic: do-it-yourself, at-home medical testing. Thanks to some clever inventions and investments by venture capitalists, the average American can go into a CVS and buy a test kit for drug use, STDs, AIDS, diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol. That's something normal people should be thankful for.
But the surprising development has worried experts. The Washington Post Recently, the spotlight has been on this “shadow system” of testing. “Fueled by a regulatory vacuum, Silicon Valley has built a burgeoning online health marketplace that aims to displace doctor's offices,” the paper explains. “This rapid growth has angered doctors who say bypassing the doctor's office leads to questionable treatments, misdiagnoses and delayed care.”
While this sounds very ominous, there is no reason for DIY testing to cause you to avoid the doctor. I recently had a health concern and had a doctor's appointment. Given our overloaded system, the earliest appointment I could get was several months away. I was able to purchase some test strips at the pharmacy and ease my anxiety. The test prompted me to do some research.
Of course, Google is no substitute for a doctor's appointment. But by the time I saw my doctor and got the necessary tests, I was better informed and asking a series of smart questions. The official tests confirmed that the $15 test I bought was correct. While no cure-all, the DIY tests were a helpful tool in the process.
Sure, some people might buy a test kit and not see a doctor. So what? We are all ultimately responsible for our own health. I know people who ignore their health and avoid home tests or doctors altogether. But we don't need to be so pushy about restricting access to useful products as a means to force them to see a doctor. Incidentally, many who are worried about these innovations are just trying to prop up the current cartel.
I've written before about app-based eye tests, which allow consumers to get a basic check of their vision and order new glasses. Some eye care startups are sending the results of the tests to licensed ophthalmologists for review, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that an organized group of optometrists has lobbied state and federal governments to ban this telemedicine. It doesn't take a cynic to suspect that this opposition stems more from fear of losing business than any concern that Americans' eyesight is at risk, a familiar source of backlash whenever a groundbreaking invention threatens to upend existing business models.
of post The article states, “Progressive “Scientific innovations can be quickly funded, rushed to market, and sold to consumers online before any health benefits have been proven,” he noted, and “many see a dangerous lawless zone of medical information.” Sold to you? That's scary. But filling the “regulatory vacuum” with additional rules and government oversight will only slow the development of life-improving products and services.
of post Reporters will find a plethora of studies and news articles (including some published in The Journal's own pages) documenting the repeated failures of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which oversees medical device approval, drug safety, and our food supply. The FDA is often notorious for its cumbersome procedures that slow the release of useful products. And yet The Journal repeats the FDA's “warnings” that “the market for lab tests is exploding.”
If we want to improve health care, we need to loosen stifling regulatory frameworks that include unnecessary professional licensing requirements, restrictions on telehealth, and limitations on the scope of practice of professionals like nurses. Efforts to expand access to health care services have always come into direct conflict with lobbying groups representing existing professionals and government agencies trying to protect their turf.
At-home testing poses a new threat to the existing medical order — but as the co-founder of one cancer-testing startup said, it could also be a potential boon for Americans. postwe can now act as the “CEO of our own health.” It’s time to rebuke the naysayers, take responsibility for our own lives, stop worrying about minor potential drawbacks of revolutionary new ideas, and recognize the amazing times we live in.
This column originally appeared in The Orange County Register.