More Accessible Medical Testing

Damon Hadder heads ARCpoint Labs, a new healthcare resource
for the Mobile community.

by Sophie Goodwin

Damon Hadder is the owner of ARCpoint Labs Mobile, a branch of a franchise originally started in 1996, that provides the community with another alternative for blood work and medical tests. ARCpoint Labs Mobile is located on Grelot Road and opened in July 2024. The company aims to provide accurate, reliable and confidential testing to anyone and everyone, and specializes in private health screenings, medical testing and drug testing. Hadder (DH) talked with your author (SG) about how ARCpoint Labs Mobile is supporting the local community.

SG: Please tell me a little about yourself.
DH: I graduated from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2003, and originally wanted to attend pharmacy school at Auburn. I eventually ended up in lab sales, where I have a 15-year career selling lab testing to physicians all over the Southeast. I actually sold chamber memberships for a few years in Pensacola, then I worked in sales for a long-term care pharmacy that, coincidentally enough, has now relocated to Baldwin County.

SG: Are you from Mobile? If not, how do you like it here? How long have you been in Mobile?
DH: I’m actually from Pensacola and commute to Mobile, but I’ve spent most of my sales career covering Mobile in some capacity. It’s only an hour away from Florida, but the culture here is so incredibly unique, and it’s hard not to like. Furthermore, Mobile does an incredible job of economic development, which is why I chose to open here.

SG: Who were the company’s founders?
DH: ARCpoint is a franchise that has been in business since 1996, originating in Greenville, South Carolina. Our Mobile location has been open since July 2024, and our Birmingham location is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.

SG: How did you get involved in the company?
DH: Having worked in insurance-based diagnostics my entire career, I wanted to run my own show without the complications that come with engaging with the U.S. healthcare system. I chose ARCpoint due to the wide variety of service offerings, along with a solid track record of success across the country. One of my most recent jobs was setting up pharmacogenomics programs in health systems in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Ironically, ARCpoint was one of my customers.

SG: What products and services did ARCpoint initially offer? If those changed, what does it offer now?
DH: This is one of my favorite questions. ARCpoint originally started as a drug and alcohol testing collection organization. While still a valuable service, most ARCpoint locations offer a variety of services including background screening, paternity testing (legal and informational), fingerprinting and private drug tests. ARCpoint is also unique in the fact that it offers clinical testing just like you would get from a doctor’s office but without the need for a doctor’s order.

SG: Why is this important? What is the benefit to the customer?
DH: Great question. The benefit to the customer is not having to expend time and money on a doctor visit in which they ultimately may or may not get the test they desire. Furthermore, our pricing is transparent, as insurance-based lab testing is a bit of a black box in that regard, particularly for people with high-deductible health plans. Also, we offer tests that most doctors don’t know even exist, like pharmacogenomics, micronutrient analysis and food sensitivity testing.

SG: Why would someone get a test without visiting their doctor first?
DH: It’s not so much that they haven’t visited their doctor; it’s usually that there’s been some sort of barrier with them getting the information they feel they need as a patient. This is typically nobody’s fault; it’s just a byproduct of an overly complex healthcare system in which doctors have constraints, usually related to time and insurance coverage. Other situations include:

• Interval testing. This is when someone wants to monitor certain biomarkers to see if medications or diet/exercise is impacting their health.
• Privacy concerns. This often comes up with things like sexually transmitted disease testing or testing where the patient doesn’t want to involve a healthcare professional unless they have a positive result.
• Insurance coverage. A lot of patients have been burned by unexpected lab bills in the past through insurance. By using ARCpoint, patients know the cost of the lab tests, and can then bring it in to their doctor with no surprises.
• Ease of use. Some tests are occupational health tests that shouldn’t need a doctor’s order but are required for certain workplace situations (i.e. heavy metal testing, quantiferon testing for tuberculosis, etc.)

SG: Does ARCpoint Labs provide any insight or explanation to the test results? Is that a service you offer?
DH: Many of our tests include interpretations on the results, which is nice. For those that don’t, we do have some paired products that include a telehealth visit with a clinician for interpretations. We have some fantastic local telehealth providers should a patient want to go that route instead of taking the lab work back to their doctor.

SG: What is your top-selling product(s) or service(s) today?
DH: I would say our top-selling products are an even split between clinical testing, drug testing and paternity testing.

SG: What is the biggest challenge you face in your current position?
DH: Honestly, just getting the word out about who we are, where we are and what we do. While there’s nobody else in Mobile County that does what we do from a clinical standpoint, there are thousands of businesses (not just in Mobile) that are constantly competing for people’s attention.

SG: How do you work toward overcoming that challenge?
DH: One of the advantages ARCpoint has is proprietary software that allows us to partner with other health-adjacent businesses. This software allows us to partner with businesses that aren’t allowed to order lab testing in the traditional fashion. Our approach allows fellow business owners and other healthcare professionals to help facilitate simple lab testing that is relevant to their customers. For example, a pharmacy can offer pharmacogenomic testing through ARCpoint at their location. These results can offer insight on why a patient might be experiencing side effects to certain medications. The pharmacist can then make recommendations to the doctors if need be.

Another use case is nutrition stores that sell vitamins and supplements. If a customer of theirs is already shopping for a product, they may be interested in a lab test to measure their levels. We have chiropractors that order inflammation testing at their locations, dieticians and nutritionists that order food sensitivity and micronutrient testing remotely, etc. It allows ARCpoint to be anywhere testing is needed or wanted. It’s part of a bigger trend of healthcare decentralization that ultimately gives people the ability to be their own biggest healthcare advocate. Gyms, pharmacies, health food stores, nutritionists, chiropractors, massage therapists and several other business types make great partners for us, as their customers are our customers. Customers can have a discussion with the business owner, then order the lab testing they want from right there in the store. It’s pretty seamless.

SG: Was there any particular project or projects you worked on that really influenced you or changed your perception of this industry and its impact on society?
DH: I could expand for hours on this question. Having worked exclusively with insurance-based companies, I witnessed first-hand the confusion and hassle associated with getting lab work done. Physicians often get caught in the middle of tough situations where their patient wants a certain test done, but the medical necessity of the test is unclear. When you couple this with a lack of pricing transparency, it creates a lot of uncertainty, which often manifests in patients not getting the lab work done they feel they need. At ARCpoint, patients know what they’ll pay going in, which takes the guesswork out of the financial side of the equation.

SG: What are your future goals for yourself and your company?
DH: As cliche as it sounds, our goals really are to adhere to our mission to help our customers live their best lives. Ultimately, if we stay focused on our customers and what they want, we trust that success will follow.