"A government [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service] report released late Thursday accuses Theranos of producing inaccurate test results, of failing to meet its own lab standards and hiring unqualified personnel. " - Sarah Buhr, TechCrunch, March 31, 2016. Here is the article.
The report has 121 pages of damning details. Here is a copy of the redacted version obtained by The Wall Street Journal. There seems to be genuine reason for concern about public health.
For instance, what were described as significantly accurate results were done when in a test involving cancer detection.
Another problem was the frequency of errors. Testing done using Theranos' proprietary Edison technology produced mistakes in determining the hormone affecting testosterone levels 87% of the time.
Theranos has submitted to CMS a description of how it will correct all the problems. That includes taking "corrective action" for subpar results and hiring a new director for the Newark, California lab.
No surprise, Safeway has halted its plan to partner with Theranos.
Also, Walgreens has ended testing at the Palo Alto, CA facility. Also, it has been focusing on ending its relationship with Theranos in Arizona. However, Theranos' founder, Elizabeth Holmes, might try to push back on Walgreens, contending a breach of contract. On the Theranos board is superlawyer, David Boies.
The Wall Street Journal broke this story pointing to accuracy problems at Theranos last October. Before that, the startup, valued at $9 billion, was a media darling. Soon after the story broke, there followed a media frenzy of attacks.
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