In this series of interviews, called Industry Insiders, we talk with business owners from various industries to get some insight into their respective fields. Myrna Steinbaum is the owner of the mobile phlebotomy company VeniExpress in Escondido, California.
Not everyone is familiar with mobile phlebotomy. Can you tell us what your mobile phlebotomy company does?
Companies like ours that offer mobile phlebotomy services go to a patient’s home to do blood draws, instead of the patient having to go to a patient service center to have them done. The mobile phlebotomy company then delivers the specimen to the laboratory for you. VeniExpress also provides other types of in-home laboratory services, such as DNA and specimen collection and kit draws. Mobile phlebotomy services are great for people who are homebound or really for anyone who has a difficult time traveling to a patient service center for lab work.
Mobile phlebotomy is a rapidly growing field. Why do you think that is?
The New York Times once did a study on Medicare Home Health and they found that patients fare better when they are able to be treated in their own environments. Patients have a lower risk for Nosocomial infection, for example. Mobile phlebotomy services have also been shown to be cost effective. Many people are seeing the benefits of mobile phlebotomy services and are taking advantage of them. As the demand grows, more and more mobile phlebotomy companies are popping up to meet that demand.
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What are the biggest challenges you face in the mobile phlebotomy industry?
Initially, the biggest challenge for us was really getting our name out there and explaining what we do. In the beginning we were doing a lot of meetings with people to educate them about mobile phlebotomy. Our company is now growing rapidly and reaping the benefits from laying that groundwork.
How do you make your business stand out among the competition?
I think we stand out because we really take pride in what we do. We have support teams in all of our departments to make sure that any issues that come up are handled quickly. We’ve developed our own software system that helps us be efficient and accurate, which is very important in our field. Most importantly, however, we take great care in preserving the integrity of all our specimens by providing our staff with the proper equipment needed. This ultimately gives our clients the best results possible.
What is the one thing you wish your clients would understand about the mobile phlebotomy industry?
I wish our clients knew that we do truly care about them and we do all we can to provide the best customer service possible. I don’t know if this is true for all mobile phlebotomy companies, but when we hire new phlebotomists, we make sure that they not only are highly skilled phlebotomists, but also that they are committed to patient care. For us, it’s about more than just completing a transaction. We want our clients to feel comfortable and cared for every time one of our phlebotomists comes to their home.
What do you think are the keys to success in your industry?
There are really two sides to this type of business—the client side and the organizational side. If you don’t have passion, grace, and understanding for your patients and clients, this is not the business for you and you won’t likely be successful. But you also have to have a good system in place to manage everything. This type of business requires you to be very detail oriented and organized.
If someone told you they wanted to start a mobile phlebotomy business, what would you tell them?
You need faith, drive, commitment. It was a long road to get our company to the place it is now. It took a lot of hard work and persistence. You also need a very good support team if you are to be successful. It takes more than just being a good phlebotomist yourself. You need a team around you that can help you with all of the other aspects of the business.
