Self and home diagnosis is something that people have been doing for not just years, but even before our lifetime in their own way. Pregnancy tests are the first kind of tests people would think of doing at home more than any other. This is done to help detect early signs of pregnancy when at home to save having to keep going to the doctor should you be wrong. This simple premise of having a home test is being used for other health checks, and not surprisingly for tests where you have already had a diagnosis but need to keep an eye on your health, like blood glucose or cholesterol.

Mobile phone add ons are using the home pregnancy idea and are being created to allow you to pee onto a chip and then be inserted to the phone to give you an instant reading without using a lab. All very flashy, but is it reliable and really accurate? There are a wide range of tests that do give you a result at home without using a lab, and not always using urine, some are set up to take a small drop of blood from a finger prick to give you an answer. As with any movement of time and technology, there are certain people and professionals that question the testing methods at home versus those done by the doctor, but that could be without taking into account that many of the home tests are based on how it would be done by a doctor. The Food and Drug Administration is strict on home tests and only approve those which have at least 95% reliability, there is always an element of false readings no matter how a test is done or where is it done. Nothing is ever 100%.