Target masking with flex testing can help in a dynamic lab environment
An article in Medical Laboratory Observer from our own Inta Veldre offers a thoughtful description of recent advances that have improved the state of testing for respiratory infections. Many of those advances share a common theme: increasing the flexibility available to clinical lab teams.
The article, titled “For respiratory testing, there is no ‘one size fits all’,” reflects on the benefits of molecular testing for cases of respiratory infection, including generating results and selecting the right treatment more quickly.
As Veldre notes, while there is a shift to molecular testing, clinical labs are still dealing with a number of day-to-day challenges in respiratory diagnosis. Among them: major swings in demand for these assays; different testing needs for patients with certain vulnerabilities, such as compromised immune systems; and ongoing concerns about reimbursement policies.
Innovation in target selection may address a number of these challenges, according to the article. With flexible testing from products like our VERIGENE® RP Flex Test, lab professionals can choose which targets to report from a set panel, but then uncover additional targets without additional testing, if desired. Labs are charged only for the viewed results. “This cost-effective approach allows labs to begin with the most likely targets and expand only in cases where those targets failed to give a useful answer,” Veldre writes, citing the example of a clinical lab director who saved more than $95,000 in a single year of respiratory testing by adopting this approach.
This kind of flexibility “should be a guiding principle” for clinical lab diagnostics, Veldre adds. “When it comes to testing for respiratory pathogens, the best assays, platforms, and methods will make it easy for lab staff to adapt quickly as their needs shift, depending on season, patient, cost, and other factors.”
