Devices, systems and methods are provided for piercing the skin, accessing and collecting physiological sample therein, and measuring a characteristic, e.g. , an analyte concentration, of the sampled physiological sample. The subject devices are in the form of a test strip (2) which includes a biosensor and at least one skin-piercing element (6) which is a planar extension of a portion of the biosensor. At least one fluid pathway (108,128) resides within a portion of the biosensor and within the skin-piercing element. The skin-piercing element has a space-defining configuration therein which acts as a sample fluid pooling area (22,86) upon penetration into the skin. Systems are provided which include one or more test strip devices and a meter (40) for making analyte concentration measurements. Methods for using the devices and systems are also provided.