Point-of-care testing: physician's office and other alternative site testing
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The market for physician's office laboratory (POL) testing covers a wide range of product segments, including chemistry, immunochemistry, haematology, infectious disease, urinalysis, allergy and diabetes. The market is mature, since the number of labs worldwide is not growing rapidly and patient load is also relatively stable. The customer base ranges from small labs that primarily perform simple tests which do not require the skills of a laboratory technician (CLIA-waived tests or provider-performed microscopy procedures in the US), to large operations serving group practices that are equivalent to some hospital-based labs in terms of equipment and test volume. Market data is most extensive in the US, which accounts for the majority of POLs as well as most of the POL products marketed worldwide.