Q&A: How 1health’s platform can help pharmacies lead in wellness
Mehdi Maghsoodnia, CEO of 1health, said he believes that his company offers retailers and consumers something very much in demand: to make it easier and more accessible for people to get diagnostic, health-and-wellness testing. He told Drug Store News about the company’s journey and its goals to help mass retailers and pharmacies be more efficient and effective.
Drug Store News: Tell us about 1health and its history.
Mehdi Maghsoodnia: In 2016, I founded 1health in order to provide fast and affordable diagnostic, health-and-wellness testing to more people. I was frustrated by the lack of easy, accessible and cost-effective testing options that were available. This is what led me to create testing as a service, or TaaS.
DSN: What services do you offer?
MM: We are the pioneer in testing as a service and are making diagnostic, health-and-wellness testing easy and accessible for everyone.
The 1health platform powers engaging health applications for telehealth companies, hospital systems, corporations and government agencies, school systems, and consumer brands, allowing them to easily deploy, manage and personalize testing at scale. 1health’s cloud-based architecture allows for seamless management and tracing of tests, providing distribution across the country for faster testing and an easy-to-read dashboard with actionable next steps after testing. We keep more than 7 million people healthy and informed through our partners and direct-to-consumer brand, Vitagene, and support compliance with applicable privacy and security requirements of our partners and their customers.
DSN: How does your company help the mass retail community?
MM: Our testing as a service platform allows retail pharmacies to offer a far broader array of tests to their customers. By providing tests, ranging from COVID-19, antigen, antibody, DNA, vitamin D, A1C and many other types of tests, retail communities can deepen the engagement and personalization with new and existing customers, while creating a new revenue stream. Customers will rely on these retailers as wellness partners.
Also, because 1health has a large network of labs, we are not restricted by geography to provide fast and accurate test results. This means TaaS will provide vital testing services to rural and underserved areas, allowing the retail community to provide critical services to their communities.
DSN: What role does education play in this?
MM: By providing proactive, actionable insights and guidance to underlying health conditions discovered by ongoing testing, 1health is educating consumers how to live the healthiest lifestyle possible. Directly offering this service and information to retailers, 1health allows the retailer to serve as the educator, further deepening the relationship with the customer.
DSN: Finally, how will this evolve in the future? How do retailers stay ahead of the curve, especially as technology keeps changing so quickly?
MM: By providing testing as a service, retailers will be seen at the forefront of a paradigm shift that is happening in health care, transitioning away from a fee-for-service model to proactive wellness. Not only will this empower people to live longer, healthier lives, but it will also drive down the cost of health care across the spectrum.