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Home Test Kits :: Benefits &
Limitations Of Home
Testing
Benefits & Limitations of Home Testing
Home test kits are, in many cases, as inexpensive as a co-payment to a doctor and a lot less
time-consuming. Some can provide speedy results. Women often use home pregnancy test (HPT) kits for these
reasons, as well as for the convenience of testing at home. Some women prefer to know for sure that they
are pregnant before visiting their physicians, and HPT kits can help confirm pregnancy earlier. An earlier
confirmation provides an opportunity for health-care providers to counsel women about their options, and to
discourage potentially harmful behaviors, such as smoking and use of alcohol or drugs.
Kidney disease is one of the most devastating complications of diabetes, but it's also detectable and
treatable in its earliest stages. A home test kit allows people with diabetes to test for glucose and even
small amounts of protein in their urine--an early sign of kidney dysfunction.
Jim Watson, R.Ph., a pharmacist at the CVS pharmacy in Gaithersburg, Md., says that in his experience,
blood glucose monitoring systems and home pregnancy tests are among the most popular tests purchased for
home use.
"Diabetics already know they have the disease and so they test their blood sugar levels several times a
day," he says. By contrast, Watson says, although women may only use a pregnancy test once, they are still
one of the most popular tests the store sells. Sales of both HIV and drug screening home tests are
infrequent, according to Watson.
One sign of their overall increasing popularity is the fact that many pharmacists are moving home test kits
from behind their counters onto free-standing displays. The lure of the Internet is also helping to make
these devices more readily available.
Steven Gutman, M.D., director of the Food and Drug Administration's clinical laboratory devices division,
says that consumers need to be wary about buying and using the kits on their own. "People need to carefully
read the test-kit labeling and instructions, where important information and warnings about the product are
listed," he says. Among other things, this information tells how a test works, and what to do when it
doesn't. Home test kits are meant to be an adjunct to doctor visits, not a replacement for them. "Although
the menu of home testing products has expanded," Gutman says, "the advice is still the same."
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