You can work from home, take classes at home, and exercise at home. And soon, in B.C., you can even do your routine medical tests from home.
Driving the news: Later this month, B.C. will become the first Canadian province to offer at-home screening tests for HPV, human papillomavirus, a common infection that is also the leading cause of cervical cancer.
- The self-screening test is around 30% more accurate in detecting cervical cancer than Pap tests, the traditional method of screening for HPV.
- The HPV screening also requires less frequent testing (once every five years) than the Pap tests currently administered by doctors in Canada, which are recommended every three years.
Why it matters: At-home tests could alleviate some of the pressure on an overrun healthcare system that’s left a huge portion of the country without a family doctor or practitioner.
- One survey showed that 22% of Canadians don’t have access to a regular doctor, a problem that has historically been a barrier for women getting regular Pap tests.
Zoom out: B.C. may be the first province to offer up at-home screening kits, but given the success of similar programs in Australia and the U.S. and the expansion of HPV testing in doctor’s offices in provinces across the country, it likely won’t be the last.—LA