Seven Sam’s Club pharmacies in the Austin, Texas, area are taking part in a pilot program that tests people’s blood for uses such as possible reactions to GLP-1, the popular weight loss drug.
Babson Diagnostics, an Austin-based diagnostic blood firm, is using a new blood sample collection technology called BetterWay at more than 25 collection sites in the Austin and Temple, Texas, area.
The collection sites include these pharmacies of Walmart Inc.’s warehouse division. These comprise five in the Austin area, one in Waco and one in Harker Heights, near Killeen.
Pharmacies such H-E-B and People RX are also participating.
Walmart said in a statement that its Sam’s Clubs stores serve as access points for the tiny fingertip blood samples, with most visits taking about 15 minutes.
Certain panels help establish a baseline of overall health and track progress over time, including for those on a weight-loss program, Walmart said.
Babson said that with this one very small sample, a test such as BetterWay’s GLP-1 Test Panel can measure a patient’s hemoglobin A1c and lipids, and a complete metabolic panel.