Regular blood tests can spot potentially harmful diseases and conditions early and lead to corrective treatment. Yet according to a survey that gather input from 1,200 insured individuals, less than half are asked by their primary care clinicians to undergo a routine blood test that isn't related to illness or injury.
That finding is among the output of a study by HealthMine. This gap in the medical care system exists despite consumers' clear willingness to undergo a routine blood test: 76 percent of respondents said they believe they should be able to have blood tests routinely and more than two-thirds said they would do so as part of a wellness or preventive care program if the tests were convenient, affordable and relatively painless.
Recommended For You
"Blood testing can provide valuable information about an individual's health, and in many cases, can lead to early detection and prevention of chronic disease," HealthMine said. "Although accustomed to getting blood drawn after the presence of symptoms or illness, more than half of consumers — 58 percent — say their doctor does not order blood tests for them as part of wellness monitoring. Another 42 percent say that they do not get blood tests for preventive care."
The survey found that nearly half of respondents suffer from blood-drawing anxiety, while another quarter say they or a family member have experienced actual physical difficulty during blood testing. Yet although new blood drawing methods that are less painful and anxiety-promoting exist, the survey found very few consumers are aware of the improved methods.
"Only 19 percent of people are aware of new blood tests that require only a few drops of blood from a finger prick," HealthMine said. "What's more, just 30 percent of people know that there is a certified medical testing lab that performs any lab test on samples as small as a few drops of blood, not requiring tubes of blood drawn from your veins."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
