The future of home testing--implications for traditional laboratories.

Many realize today that the key to cost containment is better management of the patient. Health care payers (Medicare, Medicaid, HMOs, etc.) are seeking plans of actions that will reduce the number of patient encounters to the emergency department, hospital admissions and physician's office. As the graying population continues to grow, the need to provide health care outside the traditional walls of the hospital (e.g. clinics, home health) becomes more evident. This article has the purpose of presenting some insights on the growing home health care market and the use of telehealth, vital sign technology (VST) and point of care testing (POCT) in managing the patient outside the hospital.