By Diagnostics World Staff
April 3, 2025 | Last week, Babson Diagnostics entered an agreement with Sam’s Club to offer BetterWay blood testing. The brainchild of Babson Diagnostics CEO Eric Olson, BetterWay was created to make small-volume blood testing readily and easily available to customers. BetterWay launched back in May 2024 at several retail pharmacies in Austin Texas, including H-E-B Pharmacy, Peoples Rx, and Lake Hills Pharmacy.
Designed to be convenient, affordable, and accessible, BetterWay’s blood testing is straightforward. As Kimberly Wilson, senior director of clinical marketing at Babson Diagnostics, explains, only a pea-sized sample is collected from the fingertip without the need for a phlebotomist. A Babson Hand Warmer is used to continuously warm and support the hand during collection. The sample is then placed in the Babson Sample Preparation Device, which automates labeling, mixing, centrifuging, and cold storage to prevent human error. Finally, it is picked up by a courier and taken to Babson’s microsample lab that is both CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited.
In addition to being less invasive, BetterWay cuts out the inconvenience of scheduling an appointment and going to a lab to get blood work done. It is also quick and efficient, with “easy-to-understand results delivered in one to two days,” says Wilson. BetterWay is also covered by insurance when ordered by a doctor, as well as available to Medicare and Medicaid patients with no out-of-pocket costs for covered testing. “All tests are priced to be affordable... You can also use HSA/FSA to cover the testing.”
The agreement with Sam’s Club marks a significant milestone for accessible blood testing for patients. There is also a wide variety, with 55 different individual tests that help screen, diagnose, and monitor diseases across the major biological systems in the body.
BetterWay is currently available in seven Sam’s Club pharmacies in the greater Austin area. “We are engaged with health systems and large provider networks across the US on how to bring this convenient and patient-friendly experience to their patients and systems,” says Wilson about bringing BetterWay beyond the Texas market.