Diagnostics are the most important tool healthcare professionals have to identify diseases and health conditions so treatment can be initiated to avoid further complications and costly treatment for patients.
Diagnostic services are essential for the prevention, screening, diagnosis, case management, monitoring, treatment or surveillance of communicable, non-communicable, neglected tropical and rare diseases, injuries and disabilities. Equitable access to safe, effective and quality assured diagnostics therefore requires a comprehensive health systems approach that addresses all stages of the access value chain.
The term diagnostics includes medical devices, techniques, and procedures used to determine the presence and characteristics of a physiological condition or disease both in and outside the body. Examples of in vitro diagnostics include laboratory tests (such as blood and urine tests). In vivo diagnostics include imaging tests (such as chest x-rays, mammograms, and pelvic ultrasounds) and other types of tests such as thermometers, electrocardiograms, pulse oximeters, endoscopes, and blood pressure measuring devices. The simplest can be self-administered, such as a pregnancy test, but others, such as a CT scanner, require significant infrastructure and specialized medical personnel.
