| diagnostic devices |
| BIOSCIENCE TODAY SEPTEMBER•OCTOBER 2018 |
Cutting costs, saving time and doing away with needles: Laser technology promises a triple whammy of benefits in blood testing Blood tests: They’re not only extremely common and, let’s face it, not particularly popular with patients, they are also a huge drain on health service resources. Blood samples make up a significant proportion of the 2million pathology tests conducted daily in the NHS, tests which cost up to £3bn a year by some estimates. And, inevitably, there’s controversy around the costs. A full decade ago, Labour peer Lord Carter highlighted ‘wide variations’ in the costs of pathology tests at laboratories throughout England, and he estimated £500million could be saved if such services were rationalised.
But many of the labs themselves are under intense pressure. Last year, The Guardian published an inside account of working life at an inner-city pathology lab, with claims of ‘crumbling floors’, staff and equipment shortages, and under-funding. The system, then, like so many parts of the NHS, is under extreme pressure. It’s not surprising but what can be done about it? At least part of the answer lies with technology, and this summer Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock announced a cash injection of almost £500million to help transform the use of technology in the NHS… the same amount Lord Carter estimated could be saved by transforming pathology services.
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