A rapid saliva test for AIDS can now be used in doctors' offices and H.I.V. counseling centers, the Department of Health and Human Services said.
A lot of work lies ahead, researchers say -- making sure the tests are reliable if they are used in doctors' offices, making sure the research findings hold up in real-life situations, getting doctors and patients comfortable with the notion of spinal taps, the method used to get spinal fluid.
In diagnostics, companies such as Inverness, Quidel and Abaxis have lowered costs and increased convenience by inventing compact machines that can be used in doctors' offices and do the blood work that used to be sent out to central laboratories.
These kits include the same smooth metal cylinders, sometimes curved, that are used in doctors' offices.
In one study "Covering up for the doctor" was used in physician consultations by interpreters to avoid that threatening information was experienced as coming from the interpreters [ 34].
This scale has demonstrated good psychometric properties, including good reliability, and has been used in studies of Australian doctors [ 19].
Stress levels were assessed using the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), which has been used in other studies of stress in doctors [ 26, 27].
The five point scale (1=not at all, 5=very much) evaluating the last two weeks has been used in previous studies of Norwegian doctors.
Monetary incentives for doctors have been used in the UK and Australia to improve rates of screening and immunisation.
Mirkin says that within a few months his team will have diagnostic tests for several diseases that can be used in a doctor's office, without special equipment.
