7 COVID-19 Home Test Kits Ranked by Usability

A recent report from US patient safety organization ECRI found what it describes as "gaps in usability" among 7 commercially available at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits.

ECRI president and CEO Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, says that ease of use with the home tests is important because difficulty manipulating the elements of the kit or with legibility of printed instructions may lead to an inaccurate result or to user anxiety about the reliability of the result.

Ranking results presented in ECRI's report, Usability of COVID-19 Antigen Home Test Kits, are based on a well-recognized usability scale and reviewer pros and cons for the 7 tests.

Kits were purchased based on availability through online and retail stores in December 2021. The System Usability Scale rates products on a 0-100 scale with 100 being the easiest to use. Top and bottom tests reviewed were separated by more than 30 points.

Be ready when your patients have questions; highlights follow here.

ECRI, an independent nonprofit organization advancing effective, evidenced-based healthcare globally, self-funded this usability study of home COVID-19 antigen tests as a public service to consumers and healthcare providers. ECRI has no financial ties to the test manufacturers and all employees abide by the strictest conflict-of-interest policies that assure our objectivity.