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Launch Your Diagnostic TPA in 90 Days.

From LLC to first paying client, run from your laptop.

Run a testing coordination business without ever touching a specimen. No lab coat. No collection kits. No office. No employees. Just you, your laptop, and a business model that employers, attorneys, and families depend on every single day.

No Clinic. No Collections. No Problem.
Coordinate Testing. Get Paid.
Built-In Demand. Real Profits.
A 90-Day Launch Plan, Step by Step.
Freedom, Flexibility & Financial Power.

One-Time Purchase · Lifetime Access

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Theresa Pugh, Nurse Tee, founder of Prime Diagnostic Testing

Launch Your Diagnostic TPA in 90 Days guide

Your 90-Day Roadmap To A Testing Coordination Business From Home

A 39-page, chapter-by-chapter startup guide built directly from my own Diagnostic TPA, Prime Diagnostic Testing. Every revenue number, every outreach script, every workflow, and every compliance guideline comes from the business I actually operate.

I coordinate DOT and non-DOT drug testing, DNA and paternity testing, background screening, and occupational health testing without ever collecting a single specimen.

This is not a framework I pieced together from research. It is the blueprint from my real business, laid out as a 90-day plan so you can replicate it.

When most people hear "medical testing business," they picture a physical location, gloves, and a collection cup. They imagine driving to job sites, setting up collection booths, or working inside a clinic handling specimens all day. That picture stops a lot of would-be business owners from ever exploring this space. Because they do not want that business.

Here is what nobody told you: the most profitable position in the testing industry is not the collector. It is the coordinator. It is the business that sits in the middle, managing clients, scheduling tests, liaising with labs, and delivering results, without ever setting foot in a collection site. Without ever putting on a glove. Without ever leaving the house if you do not want to.

That business has a name. It is called a Diagnostic TPA (Third Party Administrator). And most people have never heard of it. That is exactly why you are reading this right now.

What if you could run a fully operational testing business from your laptop, coordinating tests for employers, attorneys, staffing agencies, and families, while labs and licensed collection sites did all the hands-on work? What if your job was to be the organized, professional administrator who manages the process, communicates with clients, and earns a markup on every single test coordinated through your business?

That is the Diagnostic TPA model. You are not the collector. You are not the lab. You are the administrator who makes the whole thing run. Employers need you. Attorneys need you. Staffing agencies, recovery centers, and HR firms need you.

And right now, most of them are either stuck with a large national TPA or searching for a reliable local coordinator who actually communicates with them. That gap is your opportunity.

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Chapter 1

The 3 Types of TPAs (And the One This Guide Teaches)

The word TPA covers three completely different industries. This chapter shows you which one you are building and which two you are not, so you sound like the expert the minute a client asks what you do.

Chapter 2

How the Diagnostic TPA Model Actually Works

The three-party relationship between you, your clients, and the labs and collection sites, plus the complete 6-step coordination process. By the end you can explain your business to anyone.

Chapter 3

The Revenue Model

A pricing table covering 12 services with the lab cost, the client price, and your profit on every test. Plus three monthly revenue scenarios: Part-Time ($2,210), Full-Time ($5,770), and Scaled ($13,254).

Chapter 4

Services You Can Coordinate

Five service categories in full detail: DOT drug and alcohol testing, non-DOT drug and alcohol testing, DNA and paternity testing, background screening, and occupational health testing (DOT physicals and fit-for-duty exams).

Chapter 5

Who Are Your Clients

Six client categories and 35-plus specific prospect types: employers, staffing agencies, HR consulting firms and PEOs, family law and immigration attorneys, schools and youth organizations, small businesses, and recovery programs.

Chapter 6

The 8-Step Startup Checklist and Your 90-Day Launch Timeline

Every step from business formation to your first outreach sprint, mapped day by day across your first 90 days.

Chapter 7

Your Daily and Weekly Workflow

A day-in-the-life schedule from 8 AM to 4 PM and a weekly rhythm, built around the soft life model: focused hours, then close the laptop.

Chapter 8

Marketing and Landing Your First Clients

Six ready-to-use outreach scripts: employer email and follow-up, attorney email and follow-up, a staffing agency email, and an HR consultant and PEO partnership email.

Chapter 9

How to Price Your Services

The markup rule, a three-tier pricing strategy, and how to package a full program partnership into a monthly retainer.

Chapter 10

Compliance and Legal Foundations

Your MRO relationship, chain of custody, confidentiality and privacy, and record retention.

Chapter 11

Scaling Your TPA Business

Five scaling levers, from recurring contracts and referral partner pipelines to adding a virtual assistant.

Chapter 12

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The eight mistakes that stall new TPA owners, and exactly how to avoid each one.

Chapter 13

Glossary of Terms

The industry terms you will use every day, defined in plain language.

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Let's Talk About The Money

The Revenue Breakdown

Here is something most people do not realize about the TPA model: your revenue grows with client volume, not with hours worked. You are not trading time for dollars. You are building a coordination business that earns every time a client needs a test.

The Markup Model in Plain Numbers:

A 10-panel drug screen costs you $38 from the lab. You charge the employer $85. That is $47 profit from one single test. Coordinate 80 drug tests in a month and that is $3,760 from drug testing alone.

A legal DNA paternity test coordinated through your TPA generates $180 in profit. And one employer on a full program partnership can bring in a $500 to $1,500 monthly retainer on top of per-test fees.

Part-Time

$2,210

per month · $26,520/year

A handful of consistent clients while you keep your job.

Full-Time

$5,770

per month · $69,240/year

A growing client base running like an actual business.

Scaled

$13,254

per month · $159,048/year

Systems, volume, and a virtual assistant supporting your operations.

All three scenarios are broken down line by line inside the guide.

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You are an entrepreneur or professional looking for a business model that uses your organization and people skills, with no clinical work required.
You want to start a business but the only options you have heard of feel crowded, expensive, or hands-on.
You have heard about the testing industry but assumed it meant collecting specimens, and that assumption has held you back.
You want a business you can run from home with nothing but a laptop, a phone, and reliable internet.
You are still working full time and need a business you can build around your current schedule.
You want recurring monthly revenue from ongoing client relationships, not one-time income from one-time sales.
You want a clear, step-by-step plan with a finish line: open for business in 90 days.
You do not know who your clients would be or how to find them, and you need the complete roadmap.
You do NOT need to be a nurse or have a medical background. This business is about administration and coordination. If you are organized, professional, and willing to learn the model, you can run a Diagnostic TPA.

Who Built This

I am Theresa Pugh, MSN, RN. Most people know me as Nurse Tee™.

I run Prime Diagnostic Testing, a Diagnostic TPA, from my home office. I coordinate DOT and non-DOT drug testing, DNA and paternity testing, background screening, and occupational health testing. I do not collect specimens. I have never needed to. My business is built on coordination, client relationships, and systems.

I built it alongside my private pay home care agency, my coaching and consulting company, and my online scrub store. I also founded The Prime TPA Academy, where I coach people building their own Diagnostic TPAs. I am a wife, a grandmother, and a CEO, and I run it all from home.

This guide is not what I think would work. It is what I know works, because I am doing it right now.

Real Bosses Don't Work More. We Build Smarter.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be a nurse or have a medical background?

No. The Diagnostic TPA model is an administrative and coordination business. It is not a clinical business. You do not perform any medical procedures, handle specimens, or provide any form of patient care. If you are organized, professional, and willing to learn the model, you can run a TPA regardless of your background.

Is this the same as a specimen collection business?

No, and this distinction is critical. A specimen collection business involves physically collecting samples at job sites or in a collection facility. A Diagnostic TPA is the business in the middle that coordinates the process. You never collect specimens. You coordinate from your home office.

Can I really run this entire business from home?

Yes. A laptop, a phone, and reliable internet are your entire physical operation. Client intake happens by email and phone. Scheduling is managed digitally. Results are delivered electronically. This is a fully virtual business by design.

How much does it cost to start a TPA business?

Most people can launch a Diagnostic TPA for under $500, depending on their state's business formation fees and the tools they choose. There is no location to rent, no equipment to buy, and no inventory to carry.

Can I really launch in 90 days?

Yes, with focused effort. The guide maps all 8 startup steps across your first 90 days. Days 1 to 14: form your business and choose your services. Days 15 to 45: secure your lab, DNA, and MRO partners (lab approvals take 2 to 4 weeks). Days 30 to 45: build your marketing assets. Days 46 to 90: launch outreach and sign your first clients. Results vary with your effort and your market.

Are the outreach scripts actually included?

Yes. Chapter 8 includes six ready-to-use scripts: an employer email and follow-up, an attorney email and follow-up, a staffing agency email, and an HR consultant and PEO partnership email. They are modeled on the outreach I use in my own TPA.

What if I need more support beyond this guide?

That is what The Prime TPA Academy is for. Inside the Academy you get lessons that go deeper than this guide, direct access to me for your questions, templates from my own business, and a community of people building Diagnostic TPAs alongside you. The guide gives you the complete plan. The Academy gives you the coaching, accountability, and community to carry it out faster.

What services can I coordinate as a Diagnostic TPA?

DOT and non-DOT drug and alcohol testing, DNA and paternity testing (legal, immigration, and family relationship), background screening, and occupational health testing including DOT physicals and fit-for-duty exams. Chapter 4 covers every service category in detail.

Launch Your Diagnostic TPA in 90 Days.

Your 90-Day Roadmap To A Testing Coordination Business From Home

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