INDEPENDENT Pharmacies Australia (IPA) has released a whitepaper on the potential of point-of-care testing (POCT) to transform pharmacies by expanding scope of practice, enhancing health outcomes and contributing to the sustainability of the healthcare system.
And as delegates heard at APP2025, POCT also has the potential to create new pharmacy revenue streams.
The whitepaper includes the outcomes from a POCT pilot program conducted in partnership with DBG Health's PharmaPrograms and IPA and Abbott involving 29 pharmacies in metropolitan and regional Australia, with a total of 1,345 POCT tests conducted on 628 patients.
The tests were: HbA1c (completed alongside the validated AUSDRISK assessment), which supports both diabetes screening and management; full lipid panel for cholesterol assessment, alongside blood pressure measurement for cardiovascular risk considerations; acute infections testing for COVID-19, Influenza A/B, and Strep A.
The instruments were able to deliver results on-site within 15 minutes, enabling pharmacists to provide immediate clinical referrals, lifestyle modification advice and recommendations for other pharmacy clinic services.
The opportunistic testing revealed concerning blood sugar and blood lipid levels in a significant number of patients, with 138 referred to a doctor for follow-up care.
Speaking at APP2025, Guild President Trent Twomey pointed out that while screening for certain conditions using POCT is not new, full scope of practice will enable pharmacists to take the next steps - that is, to diagnose, treat and manage chronic disease.
Twomey noted that there are many POCT devices on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG)that are currently approved for screening purposes - now the sponsors are applying to get the devices registered for diagnostic testing, as they are in other countries.
While there will be capital and time costs for pharmacists looking to undertake POCT, Twomey pointed out that patients are happy to pay to get a result on the spot.
"We charge $20 for a brief consult, $35 for standard consult and $55 for a long consult.
"And we haven't had a single complaint from anyone, because what we're providing is a safe and effective alternative to a $75, or even a $120 GP appointment."
Prior to the pilot, Dubbo pharmacist Lisa Gibson had been using POCT testing for four or five years, and over the course of the pilot, her team tested 111 people.
"Probably the most surprising thing was that of all the patients who were screened - and it was all opportunistic, we weren't targeting any populations - only 21 had normal readings on every test.
"The rest had risk factors and we referred them on."
While patients were waiting for their test results, pharmacists took the opportunity to discuss whether they were up to date with their vaccinations.
Another pilot pharmacist, Karen Carter from Carter's Pharmacy Gunnedah and Narrabri Pharmacy, had a similar experience, and noted that many of the people tested were those who would not normally see a doctor and had no idea there was anything wrong.
For Twomey, POCT is about empowering pharmacists to do more with medicines for the people in their community.
"The fact is, the healthcare crisis we have is a silent one.
"There is a large cohort out there that does not know that they have prediabetes, that does not know that they have hypertension, that does not know that they have dyslipidaemia.
"And if they go undiagnosed and untreated, it will not only cost them and their family quite severely, but it will cost the economy quite severely," Twomey said.
"So the business case behind this is empowering you to be able to do all things with medicines: prescribe, dispense, administer, review.
"Not just look after vaccine preventable diseases and acute infections, as we do now, but ultimately, chronic disease management," Twomey concluded.
The whitepaper and a link to IPA's Pharmacy podcast on POCT, with whitepaper author Melody Mugari and DBG Health's Sally Panton, is available HERE. KB
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