The ability to diagnose and treat diseases is vital for the health workforce. Diagnostics provide this capability, allowing early intervention to prevent further complications and reduce the cost of treatments. Diagnostic services play a crucial role in many aspects of healthcare, including disease prevention, screening, diagnosis, case management, monitoring, and treatment. These services are necessary for a wide range of diseases and conditions, such as communicable diseases, noncommunicable diseases, neglected tropical diseases, rare diseases, injuries, and disabilities.
To ensure equitable access to safe and effective diagnostics across all stages of the access value chain, a comprehensive health-systems approach is needed. This approach must cover all aspects of diagnostics’ accessibility and quality assurance. Diagnostics encompass various medical devices, techniques, and procedures used to determine physiological status or identify the presence and characteristics of a disease. In vitro diagnostics include laboratory tests like blood or urine tests, while in vivo diagnostics include imaging tests such as chest radiography or mammography. Other types of tests like thermometers or endoscopes also fall under this category. Some diagnostics can be performed by individuals themselves (such as pregnancy tests), while others require specialized health workforce and infrastructure (like CT scanners).
