From Clinic to Mailbox – The Future of Home Testing

Perhaps you regularly take home tests, or you've just discovered the possibility. Quickly finding out if you have a certain infection can be reassuring, especially when you can do the test at home without anyone needing to know about it.

Looking at the development of home tests, we can conclude that what once meant waiting for an examination, advanced testing at a clinic, and then more waiting time, is now a fast delivery to your mailbox with subsequent testing at home.

It doesn't matter if you want to know if you have tonsillitis or are concerned about blood in the stool. Today, you can test yourself!

What Does the Future Hold for Home Tests?

The development of tests is constantly evolving, and people demand even more convenience. If a chlamydia test takes 15 minutes today, we look forward to a test that takes 1 minute tomorrow. A notifiable disease like chlamydia should also be reported, and here we can see possibilities to make it much easier in conjunction with the test.

What Place Will Home Tests Have in Our Lives in the Coming Years?

There is often talk of new infections due to various changes in our world. An example of this is global warming, which is predicted to give rise to diseases we have never seen before. This is likely to increase the need to test oneself at home.

Not only because it's convenient to manage infection tests this way. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we also saw the need to avoid people gathering at clinics when ill. Not to mention that it's not always convenient to go to a medical center when you're feeling really unwell.

Pros and Cons of Anonymity

There's an aspect of home tests that isn't talked about much but may become significant in the future, and that is the impact of anonymity on reporting. It's a significant advantage to avoid sharing with others that you suspect you have contracted a sexually transmitted infection, but there are, of course, disadvantages to no one knowing.

When it comes to diseases where society wants information to take actions that reduce spread, anonymity is a problem. People may choose not to tell others that they have been infected because they think it's not essential.

This, in turn, can lead to many more people getting sick than would have been the case if all tests were done through healthcare, which can immediately provide instructions for proper infection management. However, we should add that it has always been possible to avoid tests despite symptoms.

Reliability and Support

What is truly impressive about modern home tests for various infections is that they are becoming more and more reliable. If you look at the tests we have here at Nordictest, you'll see that we come very close to 100% on everything from tonsillitis tests to herpes tests.

Modern home tests are carefully calibrated to provide results with high precision. If you receive a negative result, you can be sure that you have not been infected. This is especially true when you have no symptoms and the disease cannot be asymptomatic.

Now, it's crucial to note that you cannot use a home test as a professional medical assessment. Still, they can provide an initial indication and be crucial for detecting infections quickly with prompt treatment.

Here is another important point to consider for the future as home tests become more common. If people are not educated that tests are just tests and not a diagnosis, there is a risk that more will refrain from consulting with a doctor. This may require a special effort from both healthcare and test manufacturers to ensure that people get the support they need to interpret test results.

It's a good guess that more online services will emerge. Already, it's easy enough to consult a doctor online. You can chat via mobile or computer, and this can also happen in a very anonymous way that feels comfortable for someone who has taken a home test with a positive result.

Data Protection and Privacy Challenges

When we look at the future of home tests, it's clear that data protection and privacy are significant challenges. It's essential to ensure that users remain anonymous as this is a requirement. As the amount of sensitive information to be handled increases, it's crucial that tests have strict confidentiality rules when sent to the lab.

For tests where data will be shared with professionals, it's also important to establish a good routine for this. The accuracy of these tests means that healthcare does not need to retest. Doctors can go directly to discussing treatment, and this can be done online.

The Future of Home Tests Looks Bright

Considering that home tests can relieve healthcare, there is no doubt that the future of home tests is bright. A significant part of the examination process can be moved to the individual's home. This can streamline our healthcare system.

Moreover, home tests can play a significant role in personalized medicine, where investigations and treatments are tailored to a person's genetic profile. Genetic tests are an area that goes hand in hand with tests that can determine if an infection is present in your body.

The Journey of Home Tests Has Only Begun

Even though we have come a long way, much can be developed concerning home disease tests. We can see that accessibility can be even better, and there is also room for even sharper reliability.

But it is a fairly safe guess that home tests will help revolutionize our healthcare system. We gain even more control over our health, and preventive care can be significantly improved with good home use tests.