Your healthcare begins at home ™

WORDS : MADDIE ROBINSON

School is back in session, which means that easy transmission of illness is as well. Even with schools making efforts to sanitize surfaces and common spaces, they can be an ideal environment to spread diseases such as the common cold, influenza and mononucleosis, especially in the winter months. Another prevalent illness in school-aged children and one of the most common reasons that kids visit the doctor’s office is strep throat.

Strep throat is a highly contagious sickness that is caused by a bacteria called Streptococcus pyogenes and is primarily spread through activities or actions that involve saliva, like coughing, sneezing or talking. The symptoms and potential diagnosis of strep throat is responsible for sending 15 million people to the doctor every year, but a whopping 80% of tests bring back a negative result. With the average trip to the doctor taking a few hours, the majority of these doctor’s visits are unnecessary and inconvenient for families.

This is where Checkable Health comes in. Checkable is a local company based out of West Fargo that was founded in 2019 by Patty Post. After her own kids dealt with multiple bouts of strep throat, Post was growing tired of the constant drives and long wait times at the doctor’s office, only for a negative test result to come back the majority of the time. After seeing how simple the test was to administer, Post knew that there was an easier way to get people tested and as a result, set out to develop an over-the-counter strep throat test. This test is easy-to-use, accurate, and gives the consumer results in about 10 minutes. Currently, Checkable’s at-home test is undergoing a clinical study that, if approved by the FDA, could hit store shelves by as early as 2023.

Through Post's company and mission, consumers will be able to test themselves with accurate, evidence-backed results and make empowered decisions about their health and the health of their families from the comfort of their own home. Easy-to-administer tests, fast results and an app that can connect individuals to healthcare providers means that people can get tested, get diagnosed, and get solutions in a matter of minutes. With extensive research and testing, Post is leading the charge in providing an important healthcare tool that makes testing for strep throat more convenient, affordable and accessible.

Checkable is currently looking for pediatric participants for their fall clinical trial. Participating in this trial can advance research for strep throat testing and make the lives of families easier and overall, less stressful. Any interested and willing participants can visit testforstrep.com and sign up for a slot at a testing site in their area. Testing is easy, takes a short time to complete, and makes healthcare more accessible for all.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about Checkable’s strep study, as well as podcasts, blogs and other wellness tools and products, visit checkablehealth.com.