Iggbo Revolutionizing The Way Blood Gets From Patients To Labs

RICHMOND, Va., July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Iggbo is launching a revolutionary way to connect laboratories, physicians, phlebotomists and patients to deliver high-quality blood-draw services any time, any place. Iggbo leverages the mobile, on-demand delivery approach, pioneered by companies like Uber, to organize, manage and deliver the entire laboratory test collection process – from the initial requisition to sample collection to shipping and tracking. The result saves time and costs while improving patient outcomes.

There are more than 1 billion blood draws in the United States each year. Clinical laboratory testing is predicted to grow by 17% as the volume of tests increases with population growth and as new types of tests are developed. In the past, it has been difficult to coordinate physician orders for lab tests, phlebotomist availability and patient schedules.

"This is an exciting time for health care thanks to new technologies and a talented on-demand workforce," said Nuno Valentine, Iggbo's CEO and co-founder. "Historically there has been a disconnect between the labor – the phlebotomists who draw a patient's blood – and the demand from physicians who are ordering the tests. As a result, roughly one-third of provider-prescribed blood draws do not take place. We knew that we could develop a solution to change this."

Mark Van Roekel, Iggbo's president and co-founder, said that Iggbo sees 98.2 percent appointment integrity since launching. "Using Iggbo technology we know that we can improve patient compliance and outcomes by making sure blood draw appointments actually occur," said Van Roekel.

Iggbo is now operating in 18 cities, including New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Richmond, where the company is headquartered. Iggbo has signed up 4,000 phlebotomists and is quickly expanding. The service is free to doctors and patients and streamlines the blood-draw process:

• A physician logs onto the Iggbo app to order sophisticated tests from a growing network of specialty laboratories. These advanced scientific assays can guide effective medical intervention – for example, quantifying the odds of a heart attack or identifying significant genetic markers.
• The appointment instantly goes out to a pool of available, qualified phlebotomists who can instantly accept or decline. The appointments can take place anywhere, from provider's office to the patient's home or workplace.
• If a blood draw takes place in the future, Iggbo's exclusive Glidepath® process increases compliance with timed appointment reminders to the patient via email, text and a friendly telephone call for every appointment.
• The Iggbo smartphone application guides the phlebotomist every step of the way, including notes from the provider, step-by-step instruction for sample collection, preparation, packing and shipping, and bar code scanning for tracking.

"Physicians can be confident of patient compliance with necessary lab tests. Patients can have blood drawn at their convenience. Phlebotomists can work when they want, where they want," said Dr. Shaiv Kapadia, Iggbo's co-founder and Chief Medical Officer.

To learn more about Iggbo and how it works, visit iggbonow.com.

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SOURCE Iggbo