Boots today (August 5) announced the launch of “13 new at-home testing kits”, “empowering customers to test for a range of health concerns and conditions”.
The multiple has partnered with Patients Know Best to allow patients to “easily access” their results “directly via the NHS app”.
According to Boots, nine of the kits use “DNA or blood” to test for health concerns including “high cholesterol, hormonal imbalances, vitamin deficiencies, food intolerances and deficiencies and weight management, without needing to see a GP”.
Read more: Boots to pilot pharmacy ‘sponge on a string’ cancer test
The tests are “powered by testing and diagnostics company MyHealthChecked” and patients can post samples to its “medical laboratory” once completing the test, Boots said.
Test results will then be emailed to customers “alongside clear and practical advice from a team of doctors and nutritional experts”, it added.
The results can also be integrated into “the Patients Know Best personal health record platform, which will enable their results to be accessible to them and their GP via the NHS App,” the multiple said.
“Rapid self-tests”
The new at-home kits and their prices include:
- An “intolerances and sensitivities DNA test kit”, £45.99
- A “vitamins and minerals blood test kit”, £69.99
- A “general health blood test kit”, £75.00
- An “energy blood test kit”, £85.99
- A “weight management blood test kit”, £89.99
- A “vitamin B12 blood test kit”, £29.99
- A “testosterone blood test kit”, £29.99
- A “thyroid blood test kit”, £39.99
- A “cholesterol blood test kit”, £39.99
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And four new “rapid self-tests” to test for “sperm health, thyroid levels and bowel health” have also been launched – all under £11 – with results available “in under 15 minutes”, Boots said.
The new testing kits are available in “selected Boots stores and online,” it added.
Boots director of healthcare Jamie Kerruish said that “the ability for patients, GPs and other healthcare providers to access the tests results via the NHS app supports [its] vision to support the NHS and its 10-year plan”.
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“Pharmacy team members [are] able to provide healthcare advice and recommend products and services at Boots or refer on to a GP if needed,” he added.
It comes after NHS England (NHSE) announced last month that Boots will pilot the pharmacy rollout of a “sponge on a string” test designed to prevent oesophageal cancer.
And the multiple revealed in May that it had launched new training to cover “common skin conditions” for its pharmacy teams, alongside a new AI tool for customers with skin complaints.
