NEW TRENDS IN DIAGNOSTICS AND PATHOLOGY -
What started in Wuhan Province of China in the late 2019 engulfed the whole wide world and completely changed the way we live our lives in every sphere. The Covid 19 pandemic is yet to be over and it already has brought a massive shift in many sectors including businesses, academics, international relations, how we travel and how we look after ourselves. The healthcare and diagnostic industry in this context is no exception. There is a paradigm shift in perception of healthcare and the approach towards Preventive Healthcare. A new trend emerged around the world where people came forward on their own for self-tests. This is confined not just to Covid-19 test but a whole set of diagnosis on multiple parameters. Preventive Healthcare, as should have been, seems to have extensively created its space back in the diagnostic and healthcare industry. It is now a priority for people at large and this is a sea change vis-à-vis the earlier outlook of disease specific doctor prescribed tests.
What has majorly contributed to this trend, besides the alarming focus on health is the easy access to information especially while people were in lockdown. Everything from education to groceries and even healthcare became online. The trend of taking online informed decisions based on peer reviews came up and convenience became of utmost importance. At House of Diagnostics, we saw encouraging number of patients opt for home healthcare and home care sample collection. We were truly riding on this digital wave as the effect of lockdown had made people manage everything online. Thanks to the Digital India movement by our Prime Minister, which is a great contributing factor in removing inhibitions towards digital payment and easy access to high speed data. Genetic Testing is yet another trend the industry will witness. The potential applications for genetic testing are immense. Also referred to as DNA testing, it holds valuable insights into our health. HOD realized the rising popularity of genetic testing in chronic diseases like coronary heart disease, blood cancer, breast cancer, deafness, thalassemia, diabetes amongst others. We saw an opportunity being created due to the above factors and HOD collaborated with an international data analytics and healthcare company from Texas for Genetic Testing. With this collaboration we will see pocket friendly prices of genetic testing being introduced in India by House of Diagnostics. Setting up of the genetic lab shall reduce the reporting time of the test which is 15 days upwards at present to just 24 to 48 hours. This will not only be a huge advantage to patients but this collaboration will also benefit the leading labs and healthcare setups in India as well. This is not surprising considering the fact that HOD is always on the forefront of innovation and its belief in early adoption of latest technologies. In fact, HOD is the first in SouthEast Asia to acquire PET MRI, an epitome of innovation in the diagnostic industry long before the other diagnostic or healthcare players did in India. This new shifting trend in healthcare has seen a spurt in people wanting PET MRI for safety, precision and quality testing.
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are also the leading trends in Lab Automation. Automated machines with AI will work on samples without human interference. This will see a reduction in human error and will ensure accurate reports saving precious time. Dry Chemistry is another technique in blood testing which ensures accurate test results. It is an environment friendly way of blood testing where there is no conventional use of liquid and wastage of water which eventually minimizes the source of error. HOD utilises Dry Chemistry for most of its testing ensuring accurate results for the patients.
Going forward, HOD will continue to invest in IT, Data Analytics, Robotics, AI and other advance technologies that will help to make healthcare available, affordable and shall offer the patients a newer trend in experiencing care.