Digital testing platform, PocDoc has launched a testing solution to employers wanting to get people back to work safely.

The test is carried out via a finger prick with results being returned in 10 minutes.

The results display if someone has an active COVID-19 infection based on the presence of early-onset antibodies and should immediately self-isolate. It will reveal if there is a presence of these antibodies, or if the person is free of COVID-19 up until five to seven days prior to the test.

The tests, which are manufactured in the UK by BioSure are supplied as part of a partnership between BioSure and PocDoc.

PocDoc has also offered to share the data they are capturing with Public Health England to help with the national data collation effort.

WHY IT MATTERS

Government tests in contrast, are processed in labs and can sometimes take days to return results.

PocDoc provides employers with a digital platform enabling them to track their workforce’s status and health. This platform provides data collection and visualisation for full traceability, allowing employers to enable a workforce to return to work safely. 

Each test provides an individual with a unique QR code that is uploaded to the PocDoc cloud providing testing information for employers. 

The tests scores over 98% accuracy for both sensitivity and specificity, and are CE marked, approved by the MRHA with published clinical data that has been approved by a regulatory body. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT

The race for the "return-to-work" market has been rapidly gaining steam the past few months, with health tech companies and employers collaborating to create data-collecting COVID-19 health-monitoring services.

In August, BioSure and Vital Signs Solutions launched a COVID-19 digital testing solution to employers that provide on-site testing, to ensure workplace COVID safety measures are met and employers are able to evidence their compliance with current guidelines.

Also in the aim of bringing testing to public spaces, UK diagnostics firm Intelligent Fingerprinting and Imperial College London joined forces to develop a 10-minute COVID-19 fingerprint test. 

Fitbit also offered a new enterprise offering called Ready for Work, using devices, apps and dashboards to conduct daily screenings for COVID-19 symptoms.

ON THE RECORD

PocDoc CEO and Founder, Steve Roest, said: "Everyone is aware of the extent of the testing problem and we believe we have found a solution - just register on the website and we will arrange to come round and test your teams. 

"We are also encouraging the Government to take up our offer to use our service and we hope that public health bodies will take up our offer to share our data to help the national effort. Our service is quick, reliable and safe and extremely cost effective – you can get tested, store, track and evaluate data and return employees safely and securely to the workplace, all for as little as a tenner a head."