Self-Testing Drives Big Changes in Healthcare

William Morice II, president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories wrote a recent article on Diagnostic Industry Trends for 2024. In it, he explains how major changes in healthcare technology, in the form of more Self-Testing and AI, will have a major impact on Clinical Laboratory teams.

I agree with many of the points he raised with regard to the use of self-tests in particular. During COVID-19, people started using self tests in earnest which provided them with a very cost-effective and practical medical diagnosis from the comfort and safety of their own homes during the lockdowns.

At-home Tests to Continue Growing

People have actually continued to use at-home tests to screen for COVID-19 even years after the height of the pandemic. What's more, there are now combo tests available which test for COVID-19, Flu & RSV, all in one easy to use device. People have got used to testing themselves and more tests are appearing on the market with the passing of time. Several exciting new home testing kits include Drugs of Abuse multiplex tests, Cholesterol and Prostate Cancer (PSA) kits designed for home use. These tests are Blood, Urine, or Saliva based.

Such diagnostic devices are convenient, great value for money & enable patients to test in the privacy of their own place. In addition, they save valuable time and don't need to travel anywhere or spend money needlessly on transport. They don't need to wait for an hour behind many other people in a GP waiting room. They don't need to wait for their results to be sent to a laboratory and then sent back to them. They simply get their results within a few minutes in their kitchen or living room. All of these screening tests for self-use have clear instructions which are easy for the layman and laywoman to follow.

In today's busy world in which time is a scarce commodity, many men and women simply can't afford to take time off work, go to a clinic that is maybe outside of their budget or wait days for results. With home-testing kits, people can detect a potential issue faster in order to take further action sooner if necessary. Clinical labs, GPs and testing centres will need to adjust to this new reality as people have realized that they don't need to pay very high prices for specific tests at certain private clinics, when they can simply buy a whole range of simple to use, CE certified or FDA approved self-tests online and get the home testing kits delivered to their door in a day or two.

Thanks to the pandemic, self-administered tests have become far cheaper for manufacturers to produce as a result of the major investment made and significant know-how obtained during the height of the COVID-19 emergency. This investment in new lateral flow testing technology has made it far easier and cheaper to develop other self-tests to detect a range of items such as Helicobacter (H.Pylori), levels of Vitamin D, Iron Deficiency, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, Urinary Tract Infection, Date Rape Drugs as well as Drink Spiking drugs like Ketamine and GHB in beverages.

Furthermore, with longer and longer GP waiting times in countries like the UK, Ireland, France and Spain,?there is even greater demand nowadays for self-testing, to detect more diseases and ailments. There are now a wide range of infectious disease, women's health and fertility tests available over-the-counter. Several popular OTC home tests include Early Detection Pregnancy Blood Tests, FSH hormone/Menopause tests, Faecal Occult Blood tests (detects blood in faeces) Strep A tests and Sperm Count tests (analyses sperm concentration levels). #SelfTests #Pharmacies #Healthcare #Wellness #SelfCare #MedicalTests #HealthScreening #AtHomeTesting #PharmacyServices #HealthAwareness #Ireland