KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYASIA: Frost and Sullivan, a provider of economic research and analysis services and solutions, in a recent research estimates the Asia Pacific (APAC) point-of-care testing (POCT) market to reach US$5.38 billion in 2020. The market has clocked revenues of US$3.09 billion in 2015.

Some of the driving forces of the POCT market include adoption of miniaturized technology and hospitals looking for quicker means to reduce turnaround times for test results to shorten patient stay at hospitals.

Near-term opportunities for APAC POCT market lie in traditional care settings as it can reduce hospital stay, emergency room overcrowding and increase speed of diagnosis of patients. It was found that POCT was preferred over central lab testing for patients in operation theatres, recovery rooms, cath labs, and intensive care units as it delivered quicker results. However, it was found that doctorspreferred laboratory tests as it is cheaper and more reliable for diagnosing inpatients.            

Selective opportunities for APAC POCT reside in glucose Point Of Care, haematology, cardiac, and pregnancy testing. Stakeholders are educating physicians as POC is based more on the perception of physicians and also offering rental and direct sales of products to decrease distributor and retailer costs.

Long-term opportunities exist outside traditional care settings. For example in ophthalmology, POC devices will be used by end users for self-diagnosis and monitoring of conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma.

The report also found that strong development in product segments such as cardiac and infectious diseases diagnostics will boost the revenue of the POCT market for the next five years.

The Frost and Sullivan report titled ‘Asia-Pacific Point-of-Care Testing Market’ covers POCT for blood glucose, cardiac markers, blood gas/electrolytes, HbA1c, pregnancy, anti-coagulation and other health segments. The report also covers user segments such as hospitals, physician office labs, home care, retail clinics, and direct access testing in countries such as Japan, China, Australia, South Korea and India.

“Central laboratories still play an important role in the in vitro diagnostics market and hence POC is still in its early stages,” says Frost & Sullivan Transformational Health Industry Manager, Sanjeev Kumar. “Since POC tests are expensive and used sparingly, they are assigned different codes in hospital data management system. This adds pressure on the billing process and increases the chances for errors.”