WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) today sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting a review of multiplex Point-of-Care Testing (POCT). Upton and Johnson explain this technology “generates rapid results with resulting gains in testing efficiency, such as conserving expensive chemicals. The implications for our public health systems are substantial, including specific benefits related to homeland security and biothreats."
The bicameral leaders continued, “In recent years there has been significant investment from both the private and public sectors in the development of diagnostic technologies. Multiplex POCT systems are of interest to several federal government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Defense (DOD), with some agencies providing investment funding to develop or acquire these capabilities. These systems could significantly expedite diagnoses and reduce healthcare costs."
Upton and Johnson also note, “In October 2011, DHS testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, mentioning this technology as an example of federal strategic investments that ‘have yielded valuable insights.’" However, “In November 2013, a single DHS management official directed the termination of the NVS Technologies contract against the DHS subject matter experts’ advice. The Office of DHS Inspector General, in an audit report, found that DHS may have wasted $23 million in incurred cost by the decision to cancel continued funding of the project. The support and then eventual cancellation of this project is just one example that raises questions about DHS investments and progress in developing POTC technology."
Upton and Johnson are requesting “a technology assessment of multiplex POTC" to better understand the costs, benefits, and feasibility of commercially available multiplexing technologies.
Read the complete letter online HERE.
