Public Health Providers Roll-out Cxbladder In-home Sample Collection

Pacific Edge are pleased to confirm that Counties Manukau Health and MidCentral DHB have started using Cxbladder for in-home bladder cancer testing as a solution during the COVID-19 lockdown. The sampling program has been designed to allow timely and appropriate care for those patients in need, while reducing the load on healthcare facilities and staff.

Counties Manukau Health and MidCentral DHB (who combine to serve a population of approximately 805,000) are now dispatching Cxbladder test sample systems to patients at home. The kits allow for in-home urine sample collection and return to the Pacific Edge laboratory by courier, and will mean that many patients will then be able to have a cystoscopy procedure deferred to a later date based on test results. This will translate to a reduced number of urologist appointments and procedures at a time when public healthcare resources are being prioritised and people are being asked to ‘stay at home’.

Dr Christophe Chemasle, Urology consultant at MidCentral DHB, commented: “For bladder cancer, the majority of patients are over 60 years of age, with a high proportion over 70 years, and at higher risk of COVID-19. Cxbladder makes a difference by being able to collect the patient sample from their home. It means patients don’t have to travel to the clinic, and it frees-up essential healthcare services.”

CEO of Pacific Edge, David Darling, said: “The clinical utility provided by the suite of Cxbladder tests is being highlighted under the exceptional circumstances we are now living under during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Public healthcare providers are grappling with how to provide the best care for urology patients who are scheduled to visit the clinic regularly as part of their ongoing management of bladder cancer. We are now seeing a variety of essential healthcare activities being delivered in new ways, such as virtual clinics and telehealth. Cxbladder is proving itself to be a unique solution in these situations as demonstrated by the commencement of in-home sample collection by two public healthcare providers in New Zealand.”