Remote community clinic, Aboriginal health. Credit: Louise Causer

Decentralised Diagnostics Implementation Research Group

Diagnostic testing for infectious diseases performed at or near the point-of-care (POC) can provide rapid results to inform clinical management and guide treatment choices, leading to improved health outcomes for individuals and prevention of onward transmission to others. Such decentralised testing must be supported by robust infrastructure including quality assurance, training, and connectivity to ensure validity and quality of testing and availability of results for clinical management and public health response. 

Building on a decade of expertise, the Decentralised Diagnostics Implementation Research Group undertakes co-designed, multidisciplinary research to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, impact, and economic costs associated with POC testing for a range of infectious diseases. Our research aims to support the optimisation of implementation and integration into primary health care settings, and ensure equity and sustainability of POC testing for infectious diseases across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. 

Our research portfolio and expertise complements that of the Diagnostics Innovation Research Group.