The development of home diagnostic tests* has allowed telemedicine to evolve in recent years, becoming more prominent and precise, says GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that these types of devices have allowed telemedicine to be carried out to the next level, improving the classic video call care, which often has limitations.

As an industry, the field of telemedicine has experienced exponential growth in recent years thanks to widespread use in developing countries and increasingly accessible mobile technology. GlobalData expects an increase of 72% in devices entering the market from 2021 to 2023.

Elia Garcia, Medical Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Home diagnostic tests allow the measuring of a variety of parameters from fertility levels or the detection of hormonal causes for chronic symptoms such as fatigue, digestive problems, among others.”

Mobile Health (mHealth) refers to mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, that are used alongside software applications to support healthcare services. Telemedicine optimizes preventive medicine focusing on health tracking and early detection of chronic diseases. One example of this technology is Healthy.io’s at-home diagnostic test Minuteful Kidney which aims to detect CKD before symptoms appear as the symptoms don’t always appear until the late stages. The diagnosis is generated when patients take a urine test and use their camera phone for immediate analysis of results as it focuses on the detection of albumin, a protein found on the blood used as a marker for patients with kidney disease.

Garcia adds: “The pandemic accelerated the trend on the number of medical tests that can be performed at home. Rapid tests, such as a simple finger prick or saliva sample, are not new. However, constant innovation in this area has brought us homekits that allow more and more tests to be carried out at home, which will translate into better care for patients.”

*These tests vary according to the degree of intervention required by the patient. They can refer to monitoring (blood pressure, heart rate, vital signs, etc), sample collection at home and laboratory analysis (HIV, Lyme disease or colorectal cancer) and sample collection and analysis at home (COVID-19, infections or DNA. From celiac disease to nutritional deficiencies)