Currently, only 15% of Point Of Care Testing is presently collected electronically and transmitted to local information systems - The Global Market for Point of Care Diagnostics - Major Players and Key Issues.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c38009) has announced the addition of The Global Market for Point of Care Diagnostics - Major Players and Key Issues to their offering.

The global POC testing market is currently estimated to be worth US$10 billion and accounts for approximately 36% of the US$28 billion global in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) testing market. Currently, diagnostic testing accounts for only between 1-2% of government healthcare expenditures worldwide, yet influences between 60-70% of healthcare decisions.

Cost is one of the key drivers in the strategic transfer of diagnostic testing from central laboratories into point-of-care settings.

Faced with health payer demands to reduce expenditure, hospital administrators are coming under increasing pressure to move patients through the healthcare system faster to cut costs. Point of care diagnostic testing allows physicians to diagnose patients more rapidly, often within minutes. The single most important advantage a patient can have to survive a life-threatening disease is early detection. A faster diagnosis enables a quicker start to appropriate therapy, offering the potential to improve clinical outcomes, while reducing costs.

Growth in POC diagnostics has been made possible through advances in technology, automation and IT which have enabled the development of portable analytical equipment that is easy to use by non-laboratory staff and which offers reliable and reproducible results. In many hospitals, POC testing now accounts for 20% of diagnostic testing and has extended beyond the hospital to primary care surgeries and the home. As a result, the POC diagnostics market is growing rapidly and is expected to continue to do so in the foreseeable future.

If the point of care testing market is to reach its full potential it must overcome some significant clinical, regulatory and operational challenges

Cost

Initial purchase cost, cost of interfacing POCT devices with host information management systems, cost of management of POCT programmes by POC co-ordinators.

Cost per test - while tests conducted at the point of care are more convenient for patients and provide rapid results, they are relatively expensive on a per test basis compared with laboratory tests.

Clinical outcomes data. Currently, there is a dearth of independent published evidence to demonstrate the economic superiority of POC testing over central laboratory testing. More literature is needed to prove the cost-effectiveness of POC testing.

Accuracy

Claims of poor accuracy remain one of the key challenges to POC adoption. For example, it has been estimated that 88% of cardio parameters are still run in central laboratories because of their superior accuracy. The quality of such POC tests must improve to be able to compete.

Interfacing/Connectivity Issues

With unconnected equipment, operators must manually enter data into the hospital information system, increasing workload and the possibility of error in the recording of data. Currently, only 15% of POCT is presently collected electronically and transmitted to local information systems.

Regulatory Compliance and Quality Control

Point of care testing should meet the same accreditation/regulatory requirements as central laboratory testing.

Currently, in the US, POCT falls under the category of laboratory testing despite it being performed at the bedside. As such it is necessary for it to be regulated by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA).

In Europe, POC testing devices are regulated by the In-Vitro Medical Device Directive. Manufacturers must comply with this legislation before placing a device on the market.

Central Laboratory Competition

Most testing is still conducted by central laboratory staff who potentially could face redundancy if POC testing takes over. Competition from these laboratories, which claim superiority in terms of accuracy and cost, is a key challenge to POC growth.

Providing...

Extensive competitive comparison and evaluation of major and emerging companies

Market valuation and POC markets in context

Critical appraisal of research & innovation

Covering...

Blood Glucose

Cardiology

Blood Gas/Electrolytes

Infectious Diseases

Pregnancy/Fertility

Clinical Chemistry Analysers

Tumour Markers

Volume I:

Company Analysis

Volume I of the report provides extensive company information on 80 leading companies focusing on:

Product Portfolio

Research Programmes

Who's Working with Whom?

The point of care market comprises three main sectors: consumer self-testing; primary care laboratory testing (physician office laboratories (POL's)); and hospital testing (critical care).

The POC market for rapid diagnostic products consists primarily of small and medium sized, non-centralised laboratories and testing locations such as POL's, specialist mobile clinics, emergency rooms and some rapid-response laboratories in larger medical centres. This market is dominated by five leading manufacturers: Roche Diagnostics, Bayer Healthcare, Inverness Medical Innovations, Biosite and Abbott Laboratories.

Volume II:

Market Sectors

Volume II of the report looks more closely at the issues and markets as a whole and focuses on current and novel development in the following key sectors

Blood Glucose

Cardiology

Blood Gas/Electrolytes

Infectious Diseases

Pregnancy/Fertility

Clinical Chemistry Analysers

Tumour Markers

Data Management

The consumer diagnostic market principally comprises blood glucose testing and pregnancy testing, with the former clearly dominating the market. The blood glucose market leaders are Roche (meters) and J&J's LifeScan (strips). Roche claims to be the overall market leader in glucose testing, although its share has softened somewhat since the arrival of competitors in the market in 2004. Other leading players in the blood glucose market include Abbott and Bayer. In the consumer fertility/pregnancy testing market, Inverness Medical is the worldwide market leader with Quidel the US market leader.

Companies Mentioned:

- Abaxis

- Piccolo

- bioM[R] rieux SA

- PSS World Medical

- Chatani

- Abbott Diagnostics

- i-STAT

- Axis-Shield

- OraSure

- Accumetrics

- ACON Laboratories

- MedSurge Medical

- SpotChem EZ

- Eli Lilly

- Roche Diagnostics

- Branan Medical

- Church & Dwight

- Quidel

- Vitalab Fibron

- Dade Behring

- ZyCare

- ABX Pentra

- Bayer Diagnostics

- Iris International

- ITI Scotland Limited

- Lifestream Technologies

- Omega Pharma

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c38009

Source: Espicom Business Intelligence