(NewsNation Now) — The advent of at-home testing for everything from fertility to cancer screenings to COVID-19 means big money for this very niche sector of the health care industry.
The business of at-home testing has grown so rapidly that Quest Diagnostics says it could be a $2 billion industry by 2025. The market for at-home lab tests has exploded, with some companies seeing growth up to 400% in the last year. The pandemic has supercharged the market for at-home testing for a myriad of common conditions. The most popular tests include fertility, women’s health, COVID-19, health tests, cancer screenings, cholesterol and DNA testing.
These tests can also help Americans skip a trip to the doctor’s office, and with the dramatic uptick in the use of telemedicine during the pandemic this has made home diagnosis much more important. Telehealth visits are used 38 times more now than they were before 2020.
Several companies that received emergency use authorization for take-home COVID-19 tests have seen a surge in other tests as well. One company, Everlywell, has seen demand double for about 75% of its tests which detect vitamin deficiencies, Lyme disease and sexually transmitted diseases.
Another company called LetsGetChecked says demand is up 880% from 2019. The U.S. Defense Department has contributed to the demand, placing orders for about 500 million at-home COVID tests to be made available to the public for free. Quest Diagnostics is also expanding its home offerings as well through a partnership with Walmart. Consumers can choose from a selection of more than 50 different tests.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 70% of all health care decisions are based on diagnostic testing, so this industry is here to stay. It is important to note that experts say home tests are not a perfect replacement for a doctor’s visit and any results should be discussed with a physician.