- Health diagnostics technology innovator Avricore Health has introduced its HealthTab platform as a means of improving patients’ ability to monitor their health conditions through point-of-care testing under the guidance of trained pharmacists
- HealthTab uses partnerships with molecular testing device makers to establish rapid molecular testing services in pharmacies, including the Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy network in Ontario
- The initial rollout has taken place in 15 Shoppers pharmacies, with rapid scaling planned to achieve more than 600 locations by the end of 2023
- HealthTab’s diagnostics platform is designed to be high quality with appropriate approvals and certifications, helping patients to avoid delays in lab result turnaround
- The COVID pandemic has exposed weaknesses in lab result turnaround time capacity, but Avricore’s testing offers solutions that include COVID infection analysis under a new agreement
The unexpected advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic last year taxed health response infrastructures on numerous fronts as the rapidly spreading SARS-COV-2 virus caused an influx of sick and dying patients at hospitals struggling to keep up with demands for intensive care.
The health emergency exposed weaknesses in the diagnostic ecosystem, as well. Once testing protocols were developed, health experts still struggled to get labs the necessary resources and labs struggled to turn around test results in a timely fashion (https://nnw.fm/Nyf0h). By November, many labs were reporting they had improved turnaround times for COVID results to one-to-two days, but as case numbers began a winter surge in the United States and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) threatened to cut its payments to slow labs, lab professionals braced for new obstacles to timely reporting (https://nnw.fm/6aOUK).
Those challenges persist, particularly affected by the ebb and flow of COVID case rates during the current pandemic climate. The Baltimore Sun reported this month that a new increase in test demand as COVID infections rise and a variety of business and government institutions mandate testing is again threatening turnaround times and may, as a result, create an unintended increase in outbreaks if those left waiting for lab results fail to quarantine (https://nnw.fm/tHO48).
Pharmacy services developer Avricore Health (TSX.V: AVCR) (OTCQB: AVCRF) is helping to tackle the problem head-on with the rollout of its Point of Care Testing ecosystem that encourages patients to get lab-quality results for COVID and other illnesses at local pharmacies, with the results then shared seamlessly to patients, medical professionals and researchers in real time without compromising health privacy.
Avricore’s flagship HealthTab platform establishes the interlocking data connections, drawing on partnerships with Abbott Diagnostics and Abaxis Global Diagnostics for the technological interfaces that are lab-grade instruments compliant with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and European Conformitè Europëenne (“CE”) standards and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (“CLIA”) certification (https://nnw.fm/3noYh).
Abbott’s trademarked ID Now molecular testing instrument is capable of a molecular test for COVID-19, as well as other common infectious respiratory illness pharmacies treat, such as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (“RSV”), influenza A and B, and strep. This allows pharmacies to identify, treat share information quickly and accurately with respect to these illnesses, add to the company’s trademarked Afinion 2 device for testing for heart disease and diabetes data in use through HealthTab (https://nnw.fm/Mmuj8).
“With ID Now(TM) on the HealthTab(TM) network in community pharmacy, patients can know what they have and get focused treatment and prevent spread through better information,” Avricore CEO Hector Bremner stated in the company’s announcement about the device.
HealthTab’s initial rollout has taken place on a limited basis through the Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy network based in Ontario, Canada, with the simple blood-testing protocol under a trained pharmacist’s guidance available in 15 stores (https://nnw.fm/0iNDQ). The company plans to quickly expand its pharmacy location buildout to 600 stores by late 2023 with EBITDA pushing profits into the positive territory by next summer (https://nnw.fm/Prlfw).
The ultimate aim of Avricore’s services is to increase patients’ wellness, with better awareness leading to better care and better care producing better outcomes.
On Sept. 13, Avricore announced it has retained Oak Hill Financial Services Inc. to provide services such as drafting marketing materials and increasing Avricore’s visibility through Oak Hill’s Canadian investor network.
“We are really excited by Oak Hill’s track record of success in our sector, and they share our passion for the mission behind our core business. I’m confident in their team’s abilities to help us achieve our market-based goals,” Bremner stated (https://nnw.fm/vwvX5).
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AvricoreHealth.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to AVCRF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://nnw.fm/AVCRF
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