Diagnostic Tests
The medical technology industry is continually advancing and developing new innovations that improve the health and well-being of patients worldwide.
What are Diagnostic Tests?
Diagnostics are a key contributor to the U.S. health care system, powering medical discoveries and transforming patient care. These tests are performed on samples taken from the body and are used in a broad range of applications. Diagnostic tests provide critical insights at every stage of medical care – prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and successful management of health conditions. They facilitate evidence-based medicine, improve quality of care, promote wellness, enable early detection of disease and reduce overall health care costs.
Technological advances and automation have made tests easier to use and more accurate, and have led to more precise and more timely reports. These advances have led to point of care tests that facilitate more rapid decision-making by medical practitioners. Another advance, made possible by discoveries about the human genome, has opened the door to personalized medicine approaches that can tailor medical treatment to individual patient needs, transforming modern medicine.
Did You Know
- There are more than 4,000 different diagnostic tests available today, and they are performed close to 7 billion times each year in the United States.
- Diagnostic tests are often the least expensive component of the health care pathway, yet they influence more than 70% of health care expenditures.