Currently, the world is going through some radical changes. Since December 2019, the world has been trying to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak and live and adapt to the lifestyle forced upon us.
Currently, the world is going through some radical changes. Since December 2019, the world has been trying to cope with the Covid-19 outbreak and live and adapt to the lifestyle forced upon us. The pandemic affected the stock market, major manufacturing industries, and the supply chain, on which we are utterly dependent. Furthermore, the disease is highly contagious and cripples the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of the patients. Thus, the demand for Covid-19 diagnostics and rapid tests increased drastically.
The healthcare systems went through major transformations during the pandemic as the number of Covid-19 patients increased rapidly. Moreover, several companies launched diagnostics at-home tests. For instance, Quest Diagnostics, the leading provider of diagnostic information services, recently announced the availability of an at-home Covid-19 rapid antigen test service for customer purchase. As per the company’s collaboration with eMed, the company launched a new feature of proctored telehealth through which trained technicians can monitor sample collection, certify results, and confirm identity during their telehealth visits. This enables patients to take a self-administered nasal swab antigen test that provides results in 15 minutes.
Post-Covid-19 diagnostics
Such launches of new methods of diagnostics helped clinicians to rapidly test patients without compromising their health and increasing the risk of others. The experience of the pandemic has prepared the diagnostic market and encouraged companies to come up with rapid and accurate tests. In the future, healthcare, especially diagnostics will be home-centered, not due to demand but out of necessity. Patients would take an active part in their health care, take more control in decisions regarding their medications and personal health. As the technology is comparatively new, the prices of rapid tests are higher. However, the current barrier would be eased. As home-centered healthcare becomes ubiquitous, prices will drop and new technologies and tools will emerge.
Post-Covid-19 pandemic, people are more aware of the diagnostic industry and the benefits of diagnostic testing compared to they were before the pandemic. This awareness will change the face of diagnostic testing and encourage new innovators in the future. Similarly, people will be more cognizant about exposure to diseases and take additional precautions to limit their exposure to infectious and chronic illnesses. Use of public mask-wearing and the practice of social distancing would remain in life for a long time. From the current experience, the healthcare systems would have to fulfill timeliness, affordability, and accuracy.