Doctors concerned by home medical test usage

The increasing number of untrustworthy and illegal home medical tests is so alarming that the Public Health Service will devise their own health check, an online questionnaire that will indicate whether a proper medical examination is necessary. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) is very worried about the fact that people buy more and more home tests via the internet or at the pharmacy instead of visiting the doctor. The proliferation of these tests make it difficult to determine how reliable the tests are. "It happens that people test at home and then come in great panic with high cholesterol, for example. After we do a test the values seem normal." says Stella Zonneveld (46), doctor and chairman of Huisartsenkring Amsterdam. In a worst case scenario a home test will incorrectly indicate that there is no illness. Because no action is taken the ailment will worsen, causing the disease to spread or complications to arise. In the past several fines and warnings were given to self-tests providers who do not comply with the rules by the Healthcare Inspectorate. But the Inspectorate has now power outside Europe.