Health at Home: The New Wave of Personalized Home Diagnostics Tools

Home diagnostics, which allows clinics and hospitals to provide a complete telehealth cycle, is a rapidly growing field. With home diagnostics, healthcare providers can effectively eliminate the racial health gap and bill more health codes to insurance. Also, digital health firms can use home diagnostics to pair with and support the adoption of new products.

As with any other field or space, there’s some confusion over the fine pointers of home diagnostics. Does a regulatory authority oversee the diagnostic service? Can patients self-collect blood samples without the assistance of a phlebotomist? In this blog post, we take you to the realm of home diagnostics, covering its basics, equipment, and common panels. Also, we shed light on the leading industry participants who are unveiling the next chapter in home diagnostics. Read on!

What are Home Diagnostics?

Home diagnostics, also known as self-collection testing, is a type of diagnostic service that allows patients to complete tests in the privacy of their homes. With home diagnostics, patients can collect samples in the form of urine, blood, stool, or other materials and submit them through the mail to laboratories for analysis. Healthcare providers or plans usually initiate home diagnostic tests to screen remotely located patients. Also, patients in remote locations can go with digital health companies that allow them to order tests via a digital portal.

Types of Collection Devices for Home Diagnostics

Home diagnostics make use of collection devices that allow patients to collect samples at home. These collection devices help determine the types of lab tests that can be performed at home:

Dried Blood Spot Card: A dried blood spot card (DBS) is a collection device used by healthcare and research facilities to collect and store small volumes of blood. It is highly useful in instances where traditional blood collection methods may be impractical or in resource-limited environments. There are several benefits of using a dried blood spot card, including easy collection, minimal invasiveness, and the capacity to store samples at room temperature.

Microcontainers: Some states, such as New York, mandate the providers of diagnostic services to use microcontainers instead of dried blood spot cards for blood sample collection. In essence, microcontainers are non-capillary blood collection tubes that contain an inert gel barrier and a clot activator coating. These blood collection devices ensure that a quality capillary blood sample is collected from the patient.

Swab: A swab is a small piece of soft material used to look for bacteria and viruses that may lead to respiratory infections. The head of a swab is typically made of natural fibers such as cotton. Alternatively, inert or organic fibers such as polyester, viscose, and flocked fibers may be used to make the swab head. Several at-home diagnostic tests, such as COVID-19 or flu tests, make use of swabs for sample collection.

Brush Kit: Lab tests that need a stool sample, such as fecal immunochemical test (FIT), may use a brush kit to collect and transport the sample in a remote care flow.

Common Home Diagnostic Panels Listed

Some common examples of home diagnostic panels are given below:

Upper Respiratory: This panel makes use of swabs to screen for strep, flu, respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV), and COVID-19.

Diabetes Screening: These panels make use of DBS cards and other diabetes devices to screen for HbA1C levels and glucose.

General Health: These panels use DBS cards to screen important general biomarkers related to the health of vital organs, including bones, kidneys, and liver.

Cardiovascular Health: This panel screens for cardiovascular health by detecting levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

Top Home Diagnostics Companies

The home diagnostics market has the presence of both established players and new entrants. Here are the top players that are driving the growth of the market:

BTNX Inc

BTNX Inc. is a biotechnology company based out of Pickering, Canada. A global leader in rapid diagnostics, BTNX Inc. specializes in research, innovation, and development of in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests for labs, clinics, and hospitals. Also, it develops information technology systems to manage point-of-care diagnostics results. BTNX has a vast product portfolio that caters to harm reduction, drug screening, infectious diseases, cancer screening, and alcohol, amongst others.

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is an American multinational firm that specializes in the manufacturing and selling of instrument systems, medical devices, and reagents. Also, the firm offers consulting and analytical services in certain regions across the globe. BD often makes strategic collaborations with other firms in leading nations to expand its reach. For instance, in May 2024, BD announced a strategic alliance with Indian premier diagnostic health service provider Healthians to increase access to at-home cervical cancer screening in India.

Thyrocare

Founded in 1996, Thyrocare is an Indian multinational chain of diagnostic and preventive healthcare laboratories. It focuses on offering quality care at affordable rates to labs and hospitals in India and countries worldwide. Thyrocare operates with a central processing lab in Mumbai and provides 24x7 services to cater to the needs of customers. The company focuses on collaborations and acquisitions to improve its services. For instance, in February 2024, Thyrocare acquired Think Health Diagnostics to expand into home ECG services.

Roche Holding AG

Roche is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates globally under two divisions: diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. As a global leader in healthcare, Roche has been committed to improving the quality of human life since it was founded in the late 19th century. It offers in-vitro tests for the diagnosis of various diseases, including hepatitis, cancer, diabetes, COVID-19, and many others.

Besides these, other major companies operating in the home diagnostics market are Self Diagnostics, Assure Tech, Quidel Corporation, Acon Laboratories, and ARKRAY, Inc.

Enhancing Patient Convenience

Home diagnostics offer a convenient way to perform tests from the comfort of a patient’s home. Also, they can provide faster results as compared to other traditional testing methods. Furthermore, home diagnostics improve access to healthcare, especially for patients who might be located in remote areas or those who might face challenges in accessing healthcare facilities. With rising R&D initiatives by both public and private companies, the demand for home diagnostics is anticipated to rise in the upcoming years.