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Diagnostic services: a look at the prognosis for optimised patient testing

In order to cope with the challenges of the future, it is critical to optimise diagnostic services and enable faster and earlier testing. Here, Tracey Sainsbury discusses the key challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for this vital area of healthcare.

Rapid and efficient disease identification is a pressing issue for the healthcare sector. Earlier diagnosis of infectious diseases can reduce transmission, improve patient quality of life, and reduce some of the burden on healthcare services – a phenomenon that was observed on a global scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. The diagnostics sector is also contending with rising cases of chronic disease, an ageing population and staff shortages in healthcare. This increased demand for diagnostic services predates the pandemic. Factors such a rise in hospital attendance and more direct requests for tests from GPs were already driving demand in the UK.1 This heightened pressure means that six-week waits for diagnostics in pathology have risen by 17% per year since 2010.2

Globally, laboratories are also contending with other pressures. The surging demand for their services during the pandemic absorbed higher volumes of supply, leading to ongoing shortages.3–7 In the EU, the In Vitro Diagnostics Regulation, which came into force in May 2022, entails much stricter requirements for 85–90% of IVDs.8 To allow manufacturers breathing room to achieve compliance, the regulation is being rolled out progressively based on device classification. Higher-risk devices have a shorter timeframe to comply, while the final deadline for lower-risk devices falls in May 2027.9 The ability of manufacturers in the EU to meet the new requirements in time will impact laboratory supply, as non-compliant devices may have to be temporarily or permanently withdrawn. One estimate is that at least 22% of IVD tests on the market today will be discontinued.10 

Improved service delivery

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Upcoming Events

Digital Pathology & AI Congress: Europe

The Intercontinental London Hotel, The O2, London SE10 0TW
7-8 December

POCT Innovators: The Power to Disrupt Series

Cloth Hall Court, Leeds. UK
20 March, 2024

USCAP 113th Annual Meeting

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
23-28 March, 2024

ECCMID 2024 - European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

Fira Gran Via, 08038 Barcelona, Spain
27-30 April 2024

British Society for Microbial Technology Annual Microbiology Conference

Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London
2 May 2024

Access the latest issue of Pathology In Practice on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Pathology In Practice app from your device's App store

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