Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) wants to make draw stations a bit more of a draw. The Virginia-based HDL, which focuses on cardiometabolic testing in order to help patients improve their long-term health, has opened several stylish new draw stations aimed directly at making visits more palatable for patients. The lab has opened five sites, known as My HDL Hub Centers, with four in Virginia and one in Knoxville, Tenn. Others will be opened as demand dictates, according to company officials. Described by Chief Executive Officer Tonya Mallory as “Nordstroms-meets-phlebotomy,” the draw centers have streamlined furniture and a green color scheme that plays into HDL’s primary branding hue. Some of the artwork on the walls comes from Mallory’s own hand. And the receptionist—known as a “concierge”—sits at an open-air desk without a glass partition. “My HDL Hub gives people an experience they’ve never before had when getting blood drawn, and the moment they walk in the door to the second they leave is designed to place them in a position of control over their health,” Mallory said. The My HDL Hub Centers will also offer clinical health consultants to help patients focus on making diet and other lifestyle improvements. Ongoing classes […]
Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) wants to make draw stations a bit more of a draw.
The Virginia-based HDL, which focuses on cardiometabolic testing in order to help patients improve their long-term health, has opened several stylish new draw stations aimed directly at making visits more palatable for patients.
The lab has opened five sites, known as My HDL Hub Centers, with four in Virginia and one in Knoxville, Tenn. Others will be opened as demand dictates, according to company officials.
Described by Chief Executive Officer Tonya Mallory as “Nordstroms-meets-phlebotomy,” the draw centers have streamlined furniture and a green color scheme that plays into HDL’s primary branding hue. Some of the artwork on the walls comes from Mallory’s own hand. And the receptionist—known as a “concierge”—sits at an open-air desk without a glass partition.
“My HDL Hub gives people an experience they’ve never before had when getting blood drawn, and the moment they walk in the door to the second they leave is designed to place them in a position of control over their health,” Mallory said.
The My HDL Hub Centers will also offer clinical health consultants to help patients focus on making diet and other lifestyle improvements. Ongoing classes will also be offered that include yoga, stretching or cardio exercises, and cooking lessons or demonstrations. Some of the new draw centers are located on the sites of fitness centers, which further communicates the message of improving and maintaining a patient’s health.
“The hub is more a part of the wellness experience at the gym, where those type of activities are already taking place,” Mallory said.
Two of the centers are also offering blood draws, analysis, and consultation to patients without a physician referral for a $295 out-of-pocket charge.
The proactive and consumer-oriented styling of the draw centers is an anomaly in the lab sector, where most sites are plain and straightforward. However, times may be changing, particularly as reimbursements are down and the battle for dollars has become tougher.
“It’s called customer service, and it’s a natural progression,” said John Rhoades, a principal with Camino Consulting in Marquette, Mich. “It’s getting more and more difficult to make money, and there has to be a rolling together of lab and outpatient services. It is thinking outside of the box.”
Takeaway: HDL’s decision to remake draw centers could spark the start of an industrywide trend.
