Labs preparing for increase in POC, home testing post-pandemic
Adam Bonislawski, 360Dx
Dan DeLong for KHN
A clinical lab technician at the UW Medicine Virology laboratory in Seattle processes patient samples for COVID-19 on March 11, 2020.
COVID-19 has driven an uptick in healthcare delivery approaches like telemedicine and point-of-care, home, and direct-to-consumer testing, a shift that some observers believe could continue to accelerate even after the pandemic is over.
It is a trend that has a potential downside for traditional labs as increased POC and DTC testing could cut into their business. It is also, though, a pattern that fits with the industry's move even pre-pandemic toward more patient-centered models of testing and sample collection and one that some in the business suggest could ultimately expand the overall demand for testing.