Cholesterol Monitoring has become an essential healthcare barometer for tens of millions worldwide. Current efforts to reduce the impact of coronary heart disease and stroke focus on the identification of genetic and environmental risk factors, patient education, and monitoring cholesterol levels. The vast majority of cholesterol testing is now performed in laboratories based on samples taken in physician offices or similar healthcare settings. But this will change. The convergence of improved technologies, patient demographics and managed care cost initiatives will drive a shift in cholesterol testing from laboratories and toward the point-of-care and patient homes. For cholesterol self-testing, the key enabler of this shift in cholesterol monitoring will be technological advances that will provide accurate readings in a format that consumers can understand, clearly indicating when a follow-up visit to a caregiver is needed.

Publication Date: March 2007