(Bloomberg) — Consumers will soon be able to bypass their doctors by going online to order cholesterol readings, thyroid tests and other blood work from the biggest diagnostics company in the United States.

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings will let customers go online to pay for tests, visit a service center to get blood drawn, then view the results on the Web. The company has already been doing back-office lab work for a number of Internet firms that let people order up tests without a doctor.

Rapid and at-home diagnostics are a growing corner of the health care market, with businesses like WellnessFX Inc. and Direct Laboratory Services tapping into demand from patients who want to get sensitive results in private or seek to monitor their health outside of the traditional doctor's office. Companies like LabCorp are tapping into demand from consumers who want to measure their bodies to monitor the effects of exercise and healthy living and to learn about their potential risks of disease.

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