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On-site pathology testing in remote Australia benefits patients and cuts costs: Remote Australian Indigenous communities

On-site pathology testing in remote Australia benefits patients and cuts costs: Remote Australian Indigenous communities are benefiting from the use of portable, point of care testing devices to quickly diagnosis acutely ill patients. The devices are also helping healthcare staff identify patients who can be treated locally. In a study of six communities, researchers found the devices were reducing medical evacuations by 35 percent for patients with chest pain, acute diarrhoea or acute renal failure. Annually, the total healthcare savings in aeromedical retrievals for the Northern Territory is estimated at AU $21.75 million.

Source: www.eurekalert.org

devices patients remote acute communities testing healthcare acutely