| Popis: |
THE TREND of direct patient access to health care started insidiously a long time ago. First there were bathroom scales and home thermometers. To these have been added home blood pressure measuring devices and glucose monitoring strips and instruments and a variety of test kits that can be purchased in drugstores and supermarkets. Consumers may currently use such kits to determine if they are pregnant, have occult blood in their stool, have high levels of blood or urine glucose, or have recently ovulated. The popularity of these devices and kits underscores today's consumers' sophistication, willingness to play active roles in their own health care, and desire for convenient alternatives to the traditional mechanisms by which they obtain health data. According to one major market-research firm, sales of home health kits doubled between 1981 and 1986. In 1989, the estimated sales volume was $750 million, and projected 1995 sales exceed $1 |
