A glowing external evaluation of the International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing at Flinders has co-director Dr Susan Matthews beaming with pride. We ask her how the Centre provided such effective testing during the COVID-19 pandemic – and how it saved Australia up to an estimated $1.8 billion in health costs.

What is your role at Flinders?

I’m Co-Director of the International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing, also the Point-of-Care Testing Discipline Lead within the College of Medicine & Public Health, and topic Co-ordinator for a Bachelor of Medical Science point-of-care testing topic.

The Centre’s research activities span from basic medical science, translational and implementation sciences to the broader evaluation of the cultural, clinical and economic public health impact of point-of-care testing for acute, chronic and infectious disease, as compared to a routine standard of care.

The Centre also specialises in the development, delivery and assessment of community-based, point-of-care testing operator training, competency assessment and quality management for Commonwealth and Jurisdictional Governments, in line with national pathology regulation. We support both undergraduate and postgraduate study, focussing on the benefits of point-of-care of testing and the development of innovative solutions to overcome existing barriers to community-led, point-of-care testing needs.

What’s the favourite thing about your job?

It’s knowing that the broad scientific research, skills and expertise of the Centre’s 40 staff and students ultimately contributes to equitable access of gold-standard, diagnostic tools that are acceptable to communities at risk.

Describe your work in three words:

Innovative, challenging and solution-focused.

What are you most proud of?

It has been our Centre-wide involvement in a community-led, national point-of-care testing program, in response to the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. A recent, external evaluation estimated that this program has averted between 23,000 and 122,000 infections that would likely have arisen in the 40 days after the first infection was identified in a remote First Nations community – and this avoided between $337 million and $1.8 billion in health costs.

The key factors that underpinned this success were well-informed and culturally competent governance, the GeneXpert system and technical support given by the Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing, the Kirby Institute, and the model of care provided by the ACCHS sector.

A copy of the full report can be read by clicking here.

What’s your favourite thing to do in your spare time?

Learning music and stand-up paddle boarding with my three daughters.

What’s your go-to coffee order?

Front-loading the day with three espressos.