Miami Herald - July 14, 2008
Patrick Danner, pdanner@MiamiHerald.com

Since the May opening of the Any Lab Test Now store, tests for sexually transmitted diseases and illegal drugs have been the most common.

"I expected our business was going to be mostly cholesterol [tests] and stuff like that," says Tom Noonan, 63, who laughingly admits not knowing the meaning of STD before the store's opening. "There are people who are promiscuous out there and then there are companies that are drug-testing their employees."

Travis Noonan is the first franchisee of Atlanta-based Any Lab Test Now to open in Broward or Miami-Dade counties. Tom Noonan liked the concept so much he and his family bought the rights to open a combined 19 more stores in the two counties. The Noonans, in turn, plan to sell the franchise rights to others in return for a cut of sales.

Any Lab Test Now wants to capitalize on the shift in healthcare that has Americans taking greater responsibility for managing their own health. The company was founded in 1992, but only began offering franchise opportunities last year.

"This is the way healthcare is going: direct-access testing," says Sean Neely, Any Lab's vice president of franchising. The company's pitch: convenient, low-cost testing for the growing number of consumers who don't have health insurance.

So far, about 40 stores have opened, with commitments for 100 more sites, a company spokesman said.

Prices for tests, including cholesterol, hepatitis and PSA (prostate-specific antigen), to name a few, start at $49. A paternity test costs $299, or $499 for the version that's admissible in court. The most expensive test: a cancer screen for $899.

The Noonans' involvement with Any Lab began when Travis, 27, decided he wanted to own his own business.

"We thought a franchise would be a good way to go," says Travis Noonan, president of Any Lab Test Florida, which owns the Fort Lauderdale store. "My dad sent me over a list of 5,000 different franchises. Very methodically, I went through every single franchise. This one blew the other ones out of the water."

The elder Noonan sees a business with strong growth potential and high profit margins in an industry that tends to fare better in a recession.

"During recessionary times, the best-performing stock groups have been in healthcare," Tom Noonan says. "How many franchises can you get in that are in healthcare? I don't think there are a lot of them."

Tom Noonan provided the financial support for his son to open the 1,000-square-foot store at 4242 N. Federal Hwy., near Holy Cross Hospital. Any Lab charges a franchise fee of $30,000 and estimates it takes another $50,000 to launch a store. He says franchisees should probably have at least an extra $30,000 to carry the store until it becomes profitable.

Franchisees also pay a royalty fee to Any Lab of 6 percent in the first year and 8 percent after the first anniversary.

The store employs two medical assistants who are trained to administer tests, including drawing blood. Specimens are then sent to a lab -- giants Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corp. are used -- for diagnostic testing. Results are usually available within 24 to 48 hours, Tom Noonan says.

The Noonans expect to approach break-even on the Fort Lauderdale store this month with sales of about $9,000. But that break-even figure is a low number because it doesn't include a salary for Travis Noonan, who has forgone a paycheck during the store's startup.

NO MIDDLEMAN

Travis Noonan says he spends his mornings cold-calling businesses pitching the store's drug-testing services. A staffing company is sending its new hires over for such screening, he says.

Tom Noonan also is relying on contacts and friendships to help build the business. Dr. Nile Lestrange, a Pompano Beach orthopedic surgeon and Noonan's friend for 25 years, has referred patients who don't have insurance.

"It's a way of cutting out the middleman, that being the doctor," Lestrange says. "People can walk in off the street and get their cholesterol checked."

Is that a good thing?

"If the patient is educated and just needs to check up on blood work, it's probably a good idea," he adds.

North Miami Beach physician Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, president of the Dade County Medical Association, sees problems, though.

ONLY 'A TOOL'

"It has the potential for confusing consumers and endangering the quality of care," Wollschlaeger says. "Lab testing is not independent of medicine. It is a tool to be used in medicine."

Wollschlaeger worries that consumers may try to treat problems instead of consulting a doctor to interpret the test results and recommend treatment.

The Any Lab stores don't employ doctors and aren't allowed to dispense medical advice. For customers whose results are "out of range," it can only recommend they see a doctor.

Tom Noonan says the benefits of Any Lab are many. Some insurance plans limit the number or kind of tests, so Any Lab is an inexpensive option for consumers to monitor their health. Plus, he says, it allows customers to keep test results out of their health records. (The labs that runs the tests are obligated to notify state health officials if someone is found to have HIV.)

Meanwhile, the Noonans are hoping others will want to become Any Lab franchisees in Miami-Dade and Broward. The family will get to keep 40 percent of the royalty fees paid by any franchisee who opens a store in the two counties.

DISCOUNT RIVALS

Any Lab has its share of competition. Besides hospitals and doctors' offices, there are online companies that arrange for low-cost testing. Among them is Miami's EconoLabs.

EconoLabs has negotiated discounts with Quest and Laboratory Corp. of America because of the large volume of business it sends them, says Dr. Efrain Arroyave, EconoLabs' medical director. It sends customers directly to the labs for the tests.

"We're brokers, if you will," Arroyave says. Consumers "are coming to us because they know we give the best discounted prices." The prices charged by EconoLabs and Any Lab for certain tests appear comparable. Sending customers directly to the lab cuts down on the number of people who handle a specimen, he adds.

Still, Tom Noonan believes people will like the ease of dropping in at an Any Lab location and not have to wait to be tested.

"This is a legitimate thing where people can get peace of mind for themselves," Tom Noonan says.

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