Same Stool Sample, Different Results in Gut Microbiome Tests
— Study finds little agreement across 21 direct-to-consumer tests
by Joedy McCreary, Enterprise & Investigative Writer, MedPage Today
Direct-to-consumer gut microbiome tests produced markedly different results -- even when analyzing the same stool sample, researchers found.
Identical fecal samples sent via 21 home-testing kits to seven anonymized direct-to-consumer testing companies yielded a wide variation in reported bacterial abundance and in the health assessments generated from those data, reported Stephanie L. Servetas, PhD, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and colleagues in Communications Biology.
Click here to read more.
Surprise! Your health care provider added a fee for that questionnaire you filled out
Novant Health is among a growing number of health care systems now charging
patients for self-administered surveys that screen for problems. Patients
say they should not be billed for checking a few boxes.
By Michelle Crouch
Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger
When Steve Hardman of Charlotte checked in to see a Novant Health sleep doctor earlier this year, the receptionist handed him a survey to fill out.
Hardman, 66, had seen the questions before — Do you feel safe in your house? Can you afford food? He spent a few minutes checking off the answers and handed the form back to the front desk.
A few weeks later, the bill arrived, and it included an extra $8 fee he hadn’t seen before.
Thinking it must be a mistake, Hardman called Novant’s billing office. The billing representative told him the fee was connected to the questionnaire he had completed.
Hardman was shocked, especially since no one at Novant had talked to him about the survey or his responses.
Click here to read more.