Having a quick test done before a trip to the doctor could eliminate unnecessary lab visits, but Holmes envisions a world in which all people can be tested and then use that information to try to improve their health.
While there are limits on how much use an individual could get out of a blood test without professional analysis, Holmes does mention some that might be handy, including a blood-based pregnancy test or a test for a sexually transmitted infection. The idea that a pre-diabetic person could monitor his or her blood sugar in that way could also be useful. But all these conditions would require a consultation with a doctor if something were amiss.
We still don't know exactly how these blood tests work — that information has been kept a closely guarded secret, and so we can't directly compare these tests to traditional blood tests. Still, simply having more information more readily available to doctors for a cheaper price seems like a big development.
After all, Holmes says lab work drives up to 80% of clinical decisions, and anything that reduces costs associated with those decisions is a huge step.
"The right to protect the health and well-being of every person, of those we love, is a basic human right," she said. "Yet in the United States today, healthcare is the leading cause of bankruptcy and the lack of it the leading cause of ... finding out too late in the disease progression process that someone you love is really, really sick."