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Walgreens Cuts Ties With Blood-Test Startup Theranos (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Walgreens has announced that it's terminating its partnership with blood-testing startup Theranos. All 40 of the "Theranos Wellness Centers" in Walgreen's Arizona drugstores will be shut down immediately, closing what has been a primary link between Theranos and would-be consumers, and further wounding the troubled startup's revenue. "In light of the voiding of a number of test results, and as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected Theranos' plan of correction and considers sanctions, we have carefully considered our relationship with Theranos and believe it is in our customers' best interests to terminate our partnership," said Walgreens senior vice president Brad Fluegel in a press statement.
Somebody needs to examine how their devices got FDA certs.
There was certainly some corruption involved.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Has anyone actually defined how/to what extent this is a sham though? It would seem to be a pretty easy supposition to test, get a selection of a few dozen people (preferably with some with and some without the tested conditions), send several sets of blood samples out, one to Theranos and couple to a few standard testing firms. After you get the results back chart the differences. The only thing I've heard is they're "not approved", "inaccurate", but no hard numbers. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they aren't as accurate as standard lab testing, but a Ford Focus isn't as safe as a Mercedes Benz and we aren't banning them. There is a place for somewhat less accurate/much cheaper medical testing, as long as it is used as an indicator and not a definitive result for major medical decisions. I don't know if that is Theranos, or if they are and outright scam. What I do know is that most of the "cut and dry" controversy these get a lot more grey when you dig beyond the headline.