Frequently-Asked-Questions ("FAQ"):
Here are the most frequent questions we get...and the answers.  If you have a question NOT answered here, please ask us!  Call 1-800-456-4647 ext. 203 or E-MAIL US.
 

The #1 Most-Frequently-Asked Question we hear from
people who call or e-mail us at Health-Tests-Direct™ is:
"How does this work?"  (Click on the link to find out!)

Other questions callers very frequently ask us include:
How do I order a blood test from you? 
              and these questions, too...
How can you possibly arrange blood tests for 40-70% less than I have to pay through a doctor?
Do you use cut-rate clinics or cheap labs as a way to save yourself and me money?
Do you accept insurance?
Why do you need to know my "Zip Code"?
How do I know if you have a contracted clinic near me to do my "blood draw"?
What if the clinic you have "nearest" to me is "20 or 30 miles away" and I don't want to drive that far?
I have a number of clinics located right here in my Zip Code.  Can I use one of them for my blood draw?
There is a clinic very close to me that you do NOT contract with for blood draws.  Why not?
My friend is a nurse,  Can I have him/her do my blood draw?
The blood test I want is not listed on your website.  Can I still order it through you, regardless?
Why do I have to pay you "in advance" for my blood draw, my lab test, and my test results?
How can I be confident that the credit card and personal info I give you over the phone is secure?
What will your charges on my credit card statement say?
Can I pay by personal check?
How can I keep my "true" identity from you, and the clinic, and the lab?
Why do you charge me a 6% 'cancellation fee' if I use a credit card, then change my mind about getting a blood test?
What if I have questions not answered here or elsewhere on your website?

Health-Tests-Direct™ is Validated as the #1 Most-Visited site on the entire Internet
^{for 'Direct-Access Blood Testing' services like we provide!  (CLICK HERE for Validation)  
GO TO OUR LIST OF DISCOUNTED BLOOD TESTS     CLICK HERE for "How to Order"    GO TO OUR HTD™ HOME PAGE}

"How does this work?"
Health-Tests-Direct™ arranges your blood test through "Direct Access Testing".  That means we arrange for you to "skip" the "middleman"-  the doctor.  (Just by skipping a doctor's visit, you are already saving both money and time, aren't you?)  Instead of sending you to a doctor's office, we arrange the first step of a blood test - that is, collecting  your blood specimen (your blood "draw") - directly with a clinic located as close as possible to your home or workplace Zip Code.  It will always be a state certified clinic, exactly like one your own doctor might send you to for your blood draw.  Using your Zip Code, we search our database of 1,600+ clinics nationwide to locate a clinic we contract with that is in or at least near your city or town, no matter where you live in America. (If you want to know where the clinic is we have nearest to your Zip Code, please E-MAIL US.)   Here, we save you money, too.  Our service contract with these 1,600+ clinics enables us to get your blood drawn for as much as 65% LESS than they normally charge the local doctors.  Most clinics charge "$25-$45" for a blood draw.  Our arrangement with those same clinics is to get your blood drawn for only "$15".  It's the same clinic, the same professional collection of your blood specimen...you simply pay $10-$30 less for it through Health-Tests-Direct™.

The clinic will draw your blood based on a written blood test order signed by OUR staff physician (your physician's signature is NOT needed).  We do NOT charge you extra for this.  Then we arrange directly with a nationally and state accredited analytical laboratory to analyze your blood and send our staff physician your test results.  When we get your results, we send them directly and confidentially to you, NOT to your doctor or to anyone else...that is, UNLESS you specifically instruct us to do so!

In summary:  At no extra charge, OUR physician (not yours) orders your blood test without making you first pay for an exam.  We then earn lower prices for you at the clinics AND at the labs by sending them a larger volume of business from all over the country.  It is these and other cost-saving factors we employ that enable us  at Health-Tests-Direct™ to arrange the same high caliber of blood test services for you as a doctor does.  And, we accomplish this for 40-70% LESS cost to you overall...than you traditionally have paid when going through your own doctor to arrange a blood test!  Do you have more questions?  Then, please continue reading the rest of this "FAQ" page.

Return to Other Questions

Q.  How do I order a blood test from you?
A.  With three (3) easy steps:
 1. DECIDE which of 400+ test(s) you want
 2. READ "What you can expect from us!"
 3. ORDER ANY OF THESE THREE WAYS MOST CONVENIENT TO YOU:
          a. "ON-LINE" (click here to do that)
          b.  CALL US TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-456-4647 ext. 203 (M-F 8AM-5PM P.S.T.)
                with your ZIP CODE and credit card information
  ^{(We need your Zip Code to locate the clinic we contract with that is nearest to you.)
We're available to take your call Monday- Friday 8AM-5PM P.S.T. (West Coast Time)}
          c. VISIT OUR OFFICES! (map and driving directions) (M-F 8AM-5PM P.S.T.)

    <sup>'1-2-3'...That's ALL there is to it!  EVERY WHICH WAY,  YOU'LL SAVE 40-70%!

For more details about any of the above three ways to order, CLICK HERE.</sup>

Q.  How can you possibly arrange blood tests for 40-70% less cost than I usually have to pay when I get my tests arranged through a doctor?
A.  Through Direct Access Testing (DAT), we are able to save you such substantial money due to at least six (6) factors.  First, we save you the cost of going to a doctor for "an exam".  OUR staff physician signs your blood test order without requiring you to visit him first.  Second, we save you the normally higher cost of the blood draw done by the clinic.  (Our arrangement with all 1,600+ clinics we use is to get your blood drawn for only $15, or as much as 65% LESS than the usual $25-$45 they charge).  Third:  "volume". The laboratories give us a lower 'test price' than they give to your doctor, because your doctor sends blood test business to the lab from only perhaps 1-2 offices he/she operates in your city.  On the other hand, "we" operate nationally.  We send blood test business to the lab from 1,600+ clinics located all over the United States!  Fourth: "Mark-up".  When your doctor gets your blood draw bill from the clinic they sent you to and your blood analysis bill from the lab your specimen went to, they "mark them up" more than we do before sending you their "doctor bill".  Although we accept less profit-margin than your doctor is willing to do, our higher volume still allows us to run a profitable business...while still saving YOU up to 70% on your healthcare needs!  Fifth:  Unlike most doctors' offices, we do NOT accept insurance.   That saves us a considerable amount in administrative expense (and cash flow losses due slow pay) that a doctor's office has.  Your doctor, certainly, must pass expense along in their bill to you.  "We" don't have that extra expense and therefore do not need to pass it on to you!  Six:  We require payment in advance by credit card or by personal check (a check that already has cleared the bank) before we arrange your blood test.  That represents another considerable savings to us - and to you - because we don't have to constantly deal with late payments, or no payments, or with bouncing checks like most other businesses do.   Make sense?

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Q.  Do you use cut-rate clinics or cheap labs as a way to save yourself and me money?
A.  Absolutely not.  The clinics we use are all a part of a national network that is certified, regulated, and regularly monitored by their own state health departments for compliance to medical standards.  They are the very same clinics that thousands of physicians nationwide also use.   Further, if we hear any personal-type complaints whatsoever about a particular clinic from our own customers- e.g., poor customer service, rude or incompetent personnel - they are immediately dropped from our network.  We do not need and will not tolerate poor-mannered clinic personnel upsetting you!

As for the laboratories we use, every one of them is a CLIA-certified lab and ranks at or among the top known and respected in the country.  It is not at all unlikely, that the local clinics "we" use and the national labs "we" use are the same local clinics and same national labs that your own personal physician and other physicians in your local community have also used for years!

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Q.  Do you accept "insurance"?
A.  Sorry, but "No".  And why not?  Because dealing with insurance companies and their related "red-tape" paperwork just takes too much administrative time.  Administrative time always translates to additional costs of doing business.  Those added costs to us could only be offset by making our prices higher to you.  Also, it typically takes 45-60 days and sometimes "120" days to receive full payment from insurance companies.  To keep our prices 40-70% lower than traditional costs for blood tests, it's necessary that we totally avoid the traditional extra costs that are a necessary evil when doing business with insurance companies.

Return to Other Questions

Q.  Why do you need to know my "Zip Code"?
A.  To enable us to locate a clinic we contract with that is near you so we can arrange your blood "draw" (collecting your blood specimen).  We use a database of more than 1,600 clinics that our labs contract with just for that purpose.  More than 80% of the time, we will have one for you within 0 - 7 miles of your home or workplace Zip Code.  If you want to  know - in advance of ordering from us - how close our nearest "blood draw" clinic is to your residential Zip Code, please CLICK HERE. 

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Q.  How do I know if you have a contracted clinic near me to do my "blood draw"?  I want to confirm that there is one very close to me before I order "on-line".
A.  If you want to  know - in advance of ordering from us - where in your city or town our nearest "blood draw" clinic is located, please CLICK HERE.

By the way, more than 8 out of 10 of our customers will only have to travel "0" to "7" miles to the nearest clinic that our labs contract with for their blood draw.  Please accept our apologies if you are one of the 2 out of 10 who live further away than that!

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 Q.  I really prefer to  order "on-line".  But after I order, what if I learn that the clinic you have "nearest" to me is "20 or 30 miles away" and I don't want to drive that far?
A.  You can cancel your order and get a full refund...along with our sincere apologies!  However, if you want to know "how many miles" it is to the clinic nearest  to you, just email us your Zip Code and ask!  Or call us, at 1-800-456-4647 ext 203.

Over the past year, we found that 84% (more than 8 out of 10) of our customers will have one of our contracted clinics within 0-7 miles of their Zip Code of residence or workplace.  Another 12% (about 1 out of 10) will live within 7-15 miles of one of our contracted clinics.  The remainder (4%, or fewer than 1 out of 20) live more than 15 miles away from our closest contracted clinic.  Frankly, if you do live "way out in the country" it could well be that the nearest clinic we have for you is truly going to be many, many miles away.

You are always welcome to call us at 1-800-456-4647 ext. 203 or EMAIL US (we need your Zip Code, please remember) to learn the clinic location before you order on-line.  However, if you order on-line (first) and then later learn from us that the clinic "nearest" to you is more than "15" miles away from your residence - and you just cannot or do not want to drive that far - please just email us or call us if you wish to cancel.  You will receive a full 100% refund!

Return to Other Questions

Q.  I have a number of clinics located right here in my Zip Code.  Can I go to one of them for my blood draw?
A.  "If" we or our lab has a contract with them, you can.  A contract means they already have the specific paperwork, blood test vials, a pre-paid overnight service shipping label, and the specific packaging necessary to properly and expeditiously process your blood test following our exact, required procedures.

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Q.  There is a clinic very close to me that you do NOT have a contract with for blood draws.  Why not?
A.  It could be any number of reasons.  Sometimes they are not willing to keep our specific supplies and materials readily on hand or routinely re-order them when they run low.  Sometimes, it's "cost".  Our 1,600+ contracted clinics are paid a flat fee of $15 for doing your blood draw.  However, most clinics usually charge your doctor $25 to $45 for that service.  We assure you that clinics certainly do NOT do a "better", "nicer", or "more pleasant" blood draw for $45 than they do for $15!  Yet, some clinics simply charge more for the exact same service...and we respect their "right" to do that.

However, if a clinic will NOT agree to accept a $15 fee for a blood draw, we won't contract with them.  There is one national network of blood draw stations that we sometimes are "forced" to use - and to pay them "$45" - because they are uniquely located in sparsely populated places.  But we try hard to avoid them.  Why?  because, it is always YOU who pays for the blood draw, one way or the other.  Remember, whether the blood draw is a separate charge or it is included as part of the total "blood test" fee, YOU end up covering that cost in the end.  So...would you rather pay $15 or $45 for your blood draw?

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My friend/relative is a nurse.  Can I have him/her do my blood draw?
A.  Only "if" we or our lab has a contract with them.  A contract means your friend/relative already has the specific paperwork, blood test vials, pre-paid overnight service shipping label, and specific packaging necessary to properly and expeditiously process your blood test following our exact, required procedures.  If they are NOT contracted with us, we would have to ship all of the above materials to you or your friend/relative.  In addition to the 3-5 delay that would cause you, while waiting for the supplies, we would have to charge you more for the shipping than the $15 you would save by having someone you know do your blood draw for free.  In any case, it's really not worth it for you to do.

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The blood test I want is not listed on your website.  Can I still order it through you, regardless?
A.  YES, you CAN still order it!  Just email or call us and tell us the name of the test you need.  Actually, there are more than 5,600 possible blood tests we could list if it made any sense to do so.  It does not.  FACT:  The approximately "300" types of tests that we DO list here on our website represent fully ninety-seven percent (97%) of ALL the different types of blood tests that are most regularly ordered by all physicians around the country.  If your test is among the 3% that are not "most regularly ordered", don't worry about it.  EMAIL US or call us at 1-800-456-4647 ext. 203 and tell us the name.

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Q.  Why do I have to pay you "in advance" for my blood draw, my lab test, and my test results?

A.  It saves us costly "G and A"- that's, "general and administrative" expenses...and THAT helps us keep YOUR costs lower!  Among other things, we don't have to generate an invoice to you, fold it, stuff it in envelope, stamp it, mail it, and wait 60, 90, or 180 days for some people to finally write a check and send it to us.  (Plus, we don't have to go through the time and expense of "hounding" those who don't mail it.)  We also don't have to charge higher prices for everyone's blood tests to offset the cost of the few 'bounced' checks that are too frequently written by some people.  Simply charging your credit card electronically - in advance - or, waiting until after your personal check clears before arranging your blood test saves us time and money and allows us to save YOU time and money, too!

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