The Power Of At-Home Diagnostics and Prevention of STDs (Ash Wellness)
More than 1 million sexually transmitted infections (including syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV hepatitis, and other infections), are acquired daily worldwide. Most STIs are asymptomatic, making early detection that much more critical to prevent the spread of these diseases. This is where at-home diagnostics will potentially make a difference.
Topics of this episode:
Problems with population health, specifically STIs
The meaning of at-home diagnostics
Accessibility and affordability of at-home testing
Confidentiality
According to WHO, globally, 38.4 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2021. Science has advanced immensively to help treat and manage HIV. For over a decade, populations at risk can take preventative pills, which prevent HIV infections by over 99%. Unfortunately, access to this prophylaxis shouldn’t be taken for granted.
In the US, prevention is supposed to be covered by insurance under the Affordable Care Act. However, in September, a district court ruling in Texas potentially endangered this access. A Christian-owned company argued against the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover PrEP for free. The argument was that this statutory provision “forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use.” The company won the case, and the ruling raised concerns about what this will mean for future efforts and coverage for preventative health measures.
At-home diagnostics role in STD prevention
In the US, at-home diagnostics kits for STIs cost between 150-300 USD. Ash Wellness, supports traditional healthcare systems, universities, public health initiatives, and digital health companies in giving patients access to at-home sample collection kits that are then sent and analyzed in laboratories. As mentioned by Emma Rayner, the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Ash Wellness, the number of discovered cases of people with HIV in the US decreased between 2019 and 2021; however, during this time, the number of HIV tests funded by the CDC and administered by healthcare settings dropped as well. This is where at-home diagnostic testing might play an important role: the customer experience is much more seamless than going to a testing facility. With at-home diagnostic tests, the individual doesn’t have to explain the reasons for testing or additional sensitive medical discussions.
Ash Wellness doesn’t offer testing kits directly to consumers; it provides a platform and services for clinicians and healthcare facilities that wish to provide at-home diagnostics to their patients. “A doctor or a healthcare system could order a test kit and send it out to their patient. It would be white-labeled to look and feel like it's coming for that healthcare system. So we take care of the fulfillment, packaging, and shipping of white label test kits,” Emma Rayer explains.
At-home diagnostics is not only suitable for STI detection but also for many others as well. “There are a host of tests that you can do, from heart health or medication adherence or fertility, etc. There are use-cases where testing is not applicable for at-home diagnostics, but the existing use cases definitely make healthcare more accessible.”
This is just an excerpt. Tune in to the full episode:
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