New trends in diagnostics - Shaping the post COVID era

 

While the second wave of COVID-19 continues to challenge us, it has also led to a series of seismic shifts that will have positive implications in the near future.

India has made significant advancements in the field of disease detection and healthcare delivery, over the last few years. In fact, in India, healthcare has been one of the largest sectors in terms of employment and revenue generation and continues to grow at a brisk pace. However, the pandemic has put to test even the most developed global healthcare systems, and India is no exception.  As is rightly said, crisis changes customer requirements or forces them to adopt new ones. Likewise, in healthcare too, many new market forces are already at play:

Shift from reactive to proactive diagnostics: There was a time when a patient underwent a diagnostic test only when prescribed by Doctors. However, in the recent past, diagnostics has been adopted as a proactive tool even by healthy individuals for early wellness testing, better clinical outcomes and saving cost on treatments. The pandemic has further catalyzed the situation, with many more people making a conscious effort for preventive diagnostics. 

It is interesting to note that while 70% of the treatment decisions are based on lab results, 70% Indians have never got their blood tested. So, there is a huge scope for the diagnostic market. And if the trends are anything to go by, the country’s USD 9 bn, diagnostic industry, is slated to grow at a CAGR of ~15% over the next 5 years.

Decentralized diagnostics: Healthcare delivery in the post COVID world is expected to be closer home. Decentralized diagnostics has the potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare spending. The resource-challenged Indian healthcare infrastructure has led to opening up of avenues for point-of-care, rapid testing for common medical conditions, in an effort to relieve pressure on acute services. While point-of-care testing is already a full-fledged market for certain ailments, it is the right time for diagnostic manufacturers to take the plunge and expand the rapid testing portfolio.

Mobile testing units is another growing field, which has already found preference, as it takes diagnostics to patients. Especially in rural areas, which lack the laboratory infrastructure, a mobile testing van offers improved accessibility and convenience.   

Adoption of new technologies: Control of an infectious disease outbreak demands not just faster but also high volume testing. Accelerated development and application of newer diagnostic technologies often holds the key. For example, while immunoassays will continue to be the gold standard for infectious diseases, the surge in COVID cases has expanded the market for molecular testing.

Changing landscape leads to newer business opportunities. Diagnostic manufacturers are developing systems that rely on other body fluids such as saliva for testing, making sample collection simpler yet robust. Antibiotic resistance is another area that has caught the attention of healthcare experts. The pandemic has also set the stage for technological advancements in the diagnosis of other infectious diseases. According to experts, the future of molecular diagnostics lies in high throughput technologies for genetic analysis.

AI and digital technologies: While the past few years have opened up the avenues for digital technology in healthcare, its adoption has been further accelerated just recently. The integration of healthcare with technology is blurring the divide and improving patient care services, increasing access, affordability, and lowering costs. As per industry estimates, there is a rise in healthtech as a dominant force in the Indian healthcare ecosystem.

Adoption of digital technologies in the diagnostics world is leading to the change in the entire medical system. Apart from telepathology, medical applications related to personal health and electronic health records, healthcare IT companies are betting big on AI platforms that can predict pandemics based on the sero-surveillance. 

Return on investment of diagnostics: Investing in diagnostics has now become a healthcare imperative. The Government is already taking strong measures to create a level-playing field for the diagnostic industry. Medtech manufacturers have already starting investing their stakes in large-scale roll out of diagnostic solutions.

Improving clinical practice via knowledge-driven model: Research and analytics organizations are focusing on developing an extensive repository of right data and evidence-based studies to allow clinicians to harness reliable insights that could be translated to safe and quality outcomes for the patient.

Conclusion: While focusing on tackling COVID-19, strong baseline diseases such as cardiac care, cancer and TB have taken a backseat. Urgent steps that have been implemented to make the healthcare system more flexible and innovative now, should be extended to battle these other diseases that are as much a priority as COVID-19.

About Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd.:

Founded in 1979, Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd., India’s Leading In-vitro Diagnostic Company offers products and solutions in Biochemistry, Hematology, Coagulation, ESR, Immunology, Urinalysis, Critical Care, Diabetes Management, Microbiology and Molecular Diagnostics.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Transasia is a part of the global Transasia-Erba Group with footprints across USA, UK, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Poland, Austria, Vietnam, UAE, Russia and Turkey. The group has production sites in India, Czech Republic and USA and R&D centres in France, UK, India and Czech Republic. Today, it serves millions in more than 100 countries.

Transasia has an impressive install base of 70,000+ equipment across 40,000 labs in India. Its team of 300+ service engineers and 400+ sales and marketing support is the largest in the Indian IVD Industry. With 350+ distributors, Transasia reaches out to over 5000 tier II-IV cities and towns.

For further information, kindly visit www.transasia.co.in