Using a home medical test may feel like a doctor, but it shouldn’t. Even before the pandemic turned nasal swabs into an art form, many Americans consumed them to assess every health issue, from learning about cholesterol and hormone levels to finding out if they were pregnant or had sleep apnea. I purchased a direct test for patients.
According to the 2022 National Health Aging Poll, conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Health Care Policy and Innovation in partnership with AARP, almost half of the seniors surveyed have purchased at least one home health checkup. and a majority — 82% — said they were prepared to do so in the future. It’s easy to see why.
“These tests are often more convenient than making a conventional healthcare appointment and can be done in the privacy of your own home,” said director of the National Poll on Healthy Aging and US said Jeffrey Krugren, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Chief of Research and Innovation. Department of General Medicine, University of Michigan. Furthermore, “advancements in technology have made it possible to test for more conditions and risk factors at home.”
Convenience is of course excellent, and technological improvements are the key. But are home tests reliable? The answer to that question can be found in the fine print inside the package – let’s face it – nobody likes to read.
Indira Venkat, senior vice president of AARP Research, said:
Reading the label is not the only way to find out if a particular test is regulated by the FDA. You can also ask your pharmacist, contact the test manufacturer, or check the FDA’s online database of approved home tests. (The FDA-approved COVID-19 tests are listed here.)
Whichever method you choose, keep that in mind. Even if he gets the green light from the FDA, he has no problem bypassing his healthcare provider.
“Discuss home testing with your doctor or health care provider beforehand,” says Krugren. It may be the most rapid and effective way to identify risks and new causes of symptoms.”
The same goes for sharing the results of your at-home tests. Those “should be discussed with your provider to determine if additional testing or treatment may be required,” says Kullgren.
The overwhelming majority of adults who responded to the poll agreed with all of the above in theory, but not necessarily in practice. Case in point: Those who used cancer-related home tests over 90 % said they shared their results with their healthcare provider, but just over half of those who used non-COVID home tests. -19 infections — such as HIV and urinary tract infections — shared the results with their doctors.
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