[exhilaration]

I paid $47 for this vitamin D test (via blood draw): https://www.lifeextension.com/lab-testing/itemlc081950/vitam... You get a doctor's prescription (from a Florida doctor, good for anywhere in the country) and instructions to go to your nearest Labcorp for a blood draw. So make sure you have a Labcorp near you.

Here are a few alternatives you can look into, mentioned in this discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15868143

[0]: https://www.privatemdlabs.com

[1]: http://www.directlabs.com/

[2]: https://www.walkinlab.com/

[3]: https://www.health-tests-direct.com/

[4]: https://www.personalabs.com/

[caskstrength]

Why should you even need doctor prescription for something like this? Week ago I just went to nearby lab and asked them to make a blood draw to verify my vitamin D levels and got results same day via email.

[belltaco]

Can you tell us which lab? Did you contact them before hand?

[caskstrength]

Sorry for not being clear - I'm not in the US. I was just surprised you need a doctor prescription for something like that.

[exhilaration]

US doctors have a strong political presence through the AMA and maintain a monopoly on nearly every medical procedure, test, and many drugs. It's impossible to get anything without a doctor's prescription and it's usually impossible to get that prescription without a (paid) visit to their office.

[panorama]

These are definitely a step up than what I'm used to and I appreciate the effort put into the reply. I'm still naively hoping there will be a scifi-esque biometric scanner or finger-prick analyzer, as another commenter put it, some day ;)

[njarboe]

It would be great to have very easy testing with a pin prick of blood. This dream is what kept Theranos going for so long, but hopefully that scandal does not scare off other people from trying.