For decades now, home laboratory tests have been available for testing a variety of conditions, diseases and substances, with the advantages of privacy and convenience. More recently, genetic tests have appeared on the market, offered on the internet by commercial labs that sell kits used to collect a sample that is then sent to the laboratory for testing. The tests look for certain genetic information that may predispose one to certain conditions or diseases. Now, as reported in several national media outlets, a commercial lab has stirred some controversy with hopes to sell DNA collection kits directly to consumers through a national chain of drug stores. Experts are weighing in on both sides of the issue as to whether this is a positive or negative development for consumers, and the FDA is looking into whether it has oversight of such testing. Consumers interested in genetic testing should consider several questions: How reliable are genetic tests in general, and specifically, what is the value of the genetic information supplied by the test? What are the specific health benefits of the test? What, if any, are the downsides of genetic testing? Read more about the pros and cons of genetic testing.

A recent study found that many women, when given the option, would prefer home sample collection for chlamydia and gonorrhea testing over sample collection at a clinic or doctor's office and that those who preferred home-based collection were more likely to complete a test than those who preferred clinic-based testing.

New guidelines from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America suggest several improvements for preventing, recognizing, managing, and treating Clostridium difficile infections, including recommended changes in the types of laboratory tests used and the way that testing is performed in order to help detect C. difficile infections in a more timely manner.

An international panel of experts has suggested new guidelines for diagnosing gestational diabetes that differ in their approach from the current ADA guidelines. The panel believes the benefit of the new guidelines is that it might reduce the number of babies who have problems related to high blood sugar in their mothers. These proposed guidelines have already provoked a number of professional organizations to consider whether or not to change their criteria for diagnosing diabetes.