PHYSICIAN OFFICE LAB
Respiratory Testing Market Changing Staying informed on the latest developments this respiratory season will be key – for you and your customers. Respiratory testing at the point of care has been a common practice in the
U.S. since the early 1980s when the first lateral flow tests for Group A strep were introduced. Their speed made a difference in initiating treatment, but most clinicians agreed that plated media had better sensitivity. Nonetheless, rapid strep tests, now including molecular platform options, have improved in performance and have become the standard of initial diagnosis. Additional rapid respiratory tests followed. A multitude of influenza tests followed in various formats from visually read lateral flow to reader based lateral flow and finally a number of molecular assays. From a diagnosis viewpoint, it all seemed to be coming together to rapidly and effectively diagnose respiratory infections, select the proper treatment program and manage the patient back to health.
That is, until the COVID pandemic came along. Suddenly, the emergence of this novel pathogen in 2019 changed everything. It spread rapidly, creating a worldwide pandemic and healthcare crisis that continues to some extent 4
September 2022
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to the present day. This summer, after COVID case trends had been flat in the U.S. for a few months, a new omicron subvariant, BA.5, has emerged and cases and hospitalizations are on the rise again. New COVID cases are now at the same
By Jim Poggi
level they were in September of 2021, with the only higher peak in the last 12 months taking place in February of 2022. With all the changes in the number and type of respiratory infectious agents increasing, dramatic changes in public health response via vaccination and testing, emergence of new test and treatment options and locations and the increase in virtual visits changing the face of the practice of medicine in the physician office, how do you stay informed to be the very best consultant you can be? My answer is straightforward: understand the current environment, leverage your knowledge to advise your customers and stay informed as changes rapidly take place.
What we know What do we know as we prepare for the fall of 2022, when respiratory infections typically peak in the U.S.?