The Rise of the Self-Serve Blood Test prompts debate over access and oversight

Function offers consumers broad laboratory panels without a doctor's visit for an annual fee, and doctors and researchers warn that extensive screening can produce false positives, unnecessary follow-ups and anxiety.

Function, a start-up, sells an annual membership that lets adults order wide-ranging blood and urine testing without an in-person doctor visit. For a yearly fee, customers can get more than 160 lab tests and receive AI-generated summaries that are reviewed by a clinician. The company draws people who say they were not helped by traditional care and want more data about unexplained symptoms or preventive markers. Medical experts warn that broad screening can create uncertain findings and additional downstream testing. Key details: - Function charges an annual fee (about $365) for access to over 160 tests, with blood draws performed at Quest Diagnostics and the company not billing insurance. - Customers receive results in an AI-created report that is reviewed by a clinician rather than a direct visit with a treating physician. - The test menu includes routine measures (cholesterol, thyroid) and more controversial offerings such as food-sensitivity panels, antinuclear antibody testing, early-detection cancer tests and whole-body MRIs. - Some users report that testing helped identify possible issues or validated symptoms, while physicians and researchers say overtesting can produce false positives, unnecessary follow-ups and anxiety. Summary: Consumer-directed testing expands access to health data and appeals to people seeking answers outside traditional clinical encounters, but it also shifts testing decisions away from initial physician oversight and raises concerns about overtesting and uncertain results. Undetermined at this time.