![]() ![]() And with many state and local authorities establishing rules for schools, workplaces and retail establishments, employers, schools and individuals want tests "in order to move about safely," Bernstine says. In addition, at-home testing is available to meet many of the government's requirements for traveling, which is helpful as the demand for travel increases, Bernstine says.įinally, the market for home COVID tests continues to grow, as the federal government committed to the purchase of one billion at-home rapid tests to send to Americans for free upon request. Many OTC tests can provide results within 10 or 15 minutes and confirm whether a doctor visit is necessary.Īs the public increasingly aims to get "back to normal" despite new COVID variants continuing to surge, OTC tests provide a "cost-effective way to provide a rapid diagnosis," Bernstine says. "Consumers like the convenience and privacy of at-home tests," says Diane Bernstine, director of business development and lab innovation at McKesson Medical-Surgical. COVID test shortages and high rates of transmission from person to person combined to make home-based testing an ideal solution. Though the at-home diagnostic testing market has quietly grown for decades, the pandemic rapidly expanded the demand for such tests. There are also OTC tests that measure or monitor blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol. Because they're easy to use, patients can use them at-home to quickly and economically obtain initial test results.Īs LFD technology has evolved, there are now at-home testing kits available to identify markers for a number of conditions including sexually transmitted diseases, colon cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and others some tests provide immediate results while others must be mailed in for results. ![]() These and other types of home testing kits use lateral flow devices (LFDs), which can come in different forms, such as a dipstick or a cassette housed in packaging. Though home pregnancy tests measure the hormones in urine, home COVID tests measure the antigens in nasal mucus. The technique can work with various liquid samples, such as urine, blood, saliva and mucus. These tests use a technique known as lateral flow immunoassay, which analyzes and measures substances like antibodies, antigens and hormones. The first home pregnancy tests arrived on the market in 1977, signaling the beginning of OTC diagnostic tests. The rise of home COVID tests may one day come to mark the beginning of the shift toward individual, at home diagnostics for widespread health conditions. Although such kits are available for many conditions, they are not yet widely embraced - but diagnostic testing companies are working to capitalize on this moment. ![]() The public's rapid acceptance of home COVID tests is one signal of the market's possible readiness for more at-home testing kits covering a wider variety of conditions. The newly approved at-home testing kits for COVID have flown off the shelves faster than companies can manufacture and restock them, leading to the federal government's unprecedented effort to mail free tests to every American household. If you've tried to purchase an over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 test in recent months, you've likely had to go to numerous retailers to find one in stock.
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