OraSure Technologies Inc., which makes diagnostic kits to detect HIV and drug use, said Thursday it will pay Inverness Medical $3 million to settle a patent dispute over HIV tests.

A study of rapid influenza tests found they miss many cases of swine flu and U.S. health experts said on Thursday they are not worth the trouble for this flu season.

As the swine flu spreads, many doctors and hospitals are turning to rapid tests that can determine within minutes whether an anxious patient has the flu. Sales of such tests are soaring. But the tests have a severe limitation: They may fail more than half the time to detect swine flu infections, according to newly published studies and to experts in medical testing.