Home-based test kits and instruments. Home pregnancy-testing kits and glucose and blood-pressure monitors are some of the more common examples of these tests. The consumer performs the test and interprets the results on his or her own.
home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit
Consumer-collected specimens sent to a lab. The patient is given a kit to collect a blood, saliva or other specimen, which is then sealed and shipped to the testing lab. Depending on the service, results may go to a doctor, the patient or both.
home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit
For instance, home HIV-testing kits come with a unique identification number that the patient punches into a phone to find out the result.
Direct-access testing. Consumers may order tests through any of several commercial Web sites or, where state regulations permit them, walk-in testing centers. In both cases, testing is generally done by the same national labs that do clinical testing for physician offices.
home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit
Usually, results go directly to the consumer either electronically, by fax, phone or on a printed form the person can pick up from the testing center. In some states, a physician must review results before they can be passed along to consumers.
home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit
Walk-in testing centers. These centers may be freestanding, but are usually attached to a pharmacy or a larger hospital system. They offer limited testing services on-site, such as a rapid flu or strep test, or follow-up testing for chronic illness, like measuring whether blood-thinning drugs are working within an acceptable range.
home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit
Although consumers may initiate some of the testing, it’s done in the context of medical care.
Traditional diagnostic testing. A patient in a hospital or doctor’s office either has samples taken there or gets a prescription for samples to be collected at another location. Test results are returned to the physician who ordered the tests. The doctor may or may not share all the findings with the patient.
home hiv test, hiv self test, home hiv kit