The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just accelerate point-of-care (POC) testing; it fundamentally transformed how the world perceived diagnostics.
Before 2020, POC testing was limited primarily to glucose monitors, pregnancy kits, and rapid strep tests used in clinics. Once COVID-19 hit, diagnostics moved beyond the lab and into everyday life. Living rooms, pharmacies, airports, and classrooms became testing hubs. For the first time, billions of people experienced diagnostics, not as a hospital service, but as a part of daily health behavior. Compact cartridges and portable analyzers quickly became front line tools in managing a global health crisis.
Lateral-flow COVID-19 antigen kits became household staples, while portable molecular analyzers such as Abbott’s ID NOW and Roche’s Cobas Liat proved that lab-level accuracy could travel anywhere.
By the winter of 2022, POC testing volumes in North American pharmacies had soared by more than 200%, permanently reshaping both where and by whom diagnostic testing was performed. As 2023 Nature Biotechnology report noted, “The pandemic compressed nearly a decade of diagnostic innovation into just two years.”
Fast forward to 2026
- The global Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostics market is expanding rapidly at a 6–7% CAGR, fueled by the surge in at-home and pharmacy testing, increasing chronic disease prevalence, growing telehealth integration, and supportive regulatory frameworks. North America maintains market leadership with Asia Pacific emerging as the fastest-growing region.
- The pandemic has reignited global interest in cardiology, neurology, and inflammation biomarkers. Hs-Troponin (hs-Tn), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) indicators, and Procalcitonin (PCT) have emerged as major innovation areas that highlight the industry’s shift to faster, data-driven POC technologies for real-time, bedside decision-making.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) is also becoming a major focus area in diagnostics, with 2025 studies showing AI-enabled platforms delivering faster, more accurate, and predictive results utilizing deep learning, real-time interpretation, and integration with health records. Innovations in this area include AI-based cancer and glucose diagnostics to hospital partnerships predicting disease progression and enabling personalized care.
How the point-of-care diagnostics market is rewiring
- Diagnostics everywhere
Decentralized testing has firmly taken hold as the new norm. Today, homes, pharmacies, and even workplaces function like mini-labs, delivering results within minutes. Across the U.S. and Canada, pharmacies now commonly conduct flu, strep, and COVID tests under CLIA waiver certification.
Meanwhile, a new layer of wellness and longevity clinics, along with tech-enabled startups, has begun integrating biomarker panels for preventive and performance-based health tracking into their standard offerings.
- Connectivity has become core
Diagnostics has moved far beyond, individual, disconnected instruments. What started with basic Bluetooth connections, has grown into fully connected, cloud-based ecosystems. Test results now sync seamlessly with electronic health records, public health dashboards, and clinical decision tools, laying the groundwork for AI to assist in smarter, faster interpretation.
- Regulation has found its fast lane
Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) proved that regulators could act swiftly without compromising rigor. In response, authorities in Europe, Asia, and North America are now piloting “agile review” models for POC and wellness diagnostics. These evolving frameworks aim to support innovation while ensuring that quality and reliability remain intact.
- The rise of the empowered consumer
The pandemic turned users into active participants in their own health. Self-testing demystified diagnostics and built confidence in managing personal health data. As The Lancet Digital Health described, it marked “a cultural shift toward health ownership.”
A new competitive battlefield
Post-pandemic, the POC market has become a competitive arena spanning, molecular assays, multiplex platforms, FIA instrumentation, AI-based readers, and digital diagnostics.
Many new players are attempting to enter the space, with young companies combining biosensor innovation and data analytics to partner with established diagnostic giants. At the same time, long-standing leaders such as Roche, Abbott, Siemens Healthineers, and Danaher have been steadily expanding their digital networks and decentralized testing portfolios. Supply-chain disruptions, meanwhile, triggered a manufacturing reset, driving localization and new hubs from India to São Paulo.
The point-of-care diagnostics trends shaping 2030
- At-Home & Pharmacy Testing – Self-use kits for flu, COVID, and STIs are scaling rapidly, while pharmacies are migrating towards the diagnostic frontlines.
- Molecular & Multiplex Growth – Portable PCR systems, such as bioMérieux’s BioFire Spotfire, are redefining near-patient molecular testing.
- AI-Driven Insights – Algorithms now interpret results, spot patterns, and support predictive health models.
- Nanotech & Biosensors – Microfluidic and nanomaterial-based sensors are shrinking tests to chip scale.
- Value-Based Care Integration – Hospitals are embedding POC data into remote monitoring and chronic-care pathways.
Looking ahead: Competing in a transformed market
Diagnostics are moving from reactive detection to proactive intelligence. Established industry leaders are scaling connected-care ecosystems, while digital-native challengers are redefining affordability, data fluidity, and patient engagement. In a landscape where speed and insight matter equally, success depends on anticipating and not just reacting to market change.
That’s where IQVIA MedTech comes in. For deeper insights into the evolving IVD and POC diagnostics segment, schedule a custom market briefing with our MedTech experts by clicking the Contact Us button to connect directly with the team.
Together, we can help you navigate the next decade of diagnostic innovation—with clarity, foresight, and competitive confidence.
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