Aug, 2021 - By
Around 80% of all diagnostic tests are conducted through clinical laboratory services. Needless to say then, these are an integral part of the healthcare industry. Over the last couple of decades, high discretionary income, high life expectancy, increasing health awareness, and high morbidity, among other factors, have led to a rapid increase in the number of people opting for routine health check-ups and diagnostic medical tests. Prevention is better than cure—this old adage holds the key to the flagging success of the healthcare industry in the following two decades. Given the high prevalence of diseases across the world, the driving need of the hour is to initiate preventive measures to curb such occurrences. Clinical tests play a pivotal role in diagnosing prevalent conditions or susceptibility to the same and accordingly take preventive measures. Recently, popular Hollywood actress and philanthropist, Angelina Jolie underwent a preventive mastectomy, following clinical laboratory tests that revealed that she was a high-risk candidate to contract breast cancer. Though it invited a lot of flak, one has to agree that she wisely acted upon timely detection, which is of essence to effectively treat potentially fatal diseases and avoided post-diagnosis trauma and side-effects of chemotherapy once the disease was to manifest itself in future Apart from preventive and diagnostic care, laboratory services play a major role in detecting the progression of diseases and accordingly administering therapy effectively.
Clinical Laboratory Services diagnoses diseases based on analysis of body fluids such as blood, urine, sputum, synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, semen, and infected tissues in laboratories. Advanced technologies allow non-invasive procedures to keep track of patients in extremely fragile conditions and in prenatal and neonatal health.
North America and Europe have among the most extensive network and sophisticated clinical laboratory services, attributable mainly to the high investment in R&D activities and robust healthcare machinery in these regions. The tendency of weight-gain and the prevalent sedentary lifestyle in these regions have led to multiple health risks that call for early disease detection. Early detection is imperative in order to curb the exorbitant cost issues of diagnostic treatment over preventive care. The African region is a breeding ground for various diseases such as yellow fever that thrive in the tropical climate. This underlines the need for tourists, who are not acclimatized with the conditions in these regions to undergo clinical laboratory tests to ensure timely treatment of indigenous diseases. The outbreak of new viral infections such as bird flu, swine flu, and tomato fever have fanned the growth, sustainability and global presence of laboratory services. Companies offering laboratory services can tap into the exponentially growing market with new strategies of expansion through collaboration and acquisitions, especially in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific. The region is characterized by rapid economic growth and renewed efforts by governments to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure in their respective countries, making these highly lucrative markets that have largely remained untapped. The rising global geriatric demographics further accelerate market growth.
Dominant players in the market include Quest Diagnostics Inc, Genzyme Corporation, Genptix Medical Laboratory, Bio-Reference Laboratories Sonic Healthcare, Laboratory Corporation of America, Healthscope Ltd, DaVita. Mergers and acquisitions play a significant role in the growth and sustainability of this industry.
The undeniable universal truth is that as long as living beings exist, they will inadvertently be inflicted by some form of health issue. Constant discovery of new maladies and persistence of existing ailments ensures lasting and perpetual growth of the laboratory services market in the foreseeable future. Techno-savvy diagnostic procedures such as biomarkers, microarrays, and companion care have opened a plethora of possibilities to improve the reach of laboratory tests to patients. Laboratories now provide web-based bookings for tests and home services to collect samples, which further adds to the convenience provided by these services. However, false identification of results of tests conducted and delays in standardized diagnostic-procedures for new maladies are certain restraints that would impede the market growth. The credibility of test results is of paramount importance to the safety of the people who rely on the testing services provided by the laboratories. In other words, the laboratory services shoulder the great responsibility of providing hope of a better life to people plagued by various health conditions.
To know more about the latest market trends and insights, read the report titled, "GLOBAL CLINICAL LABORATORY SERVICES MARKET, BY TEST TYPE (CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY & CYTOLOGY, HUMAN & TUMOR GENETICS, OTHER ESOTERIC TESTS), SERVICE PROVIDER(CLINIC-BASED, HOSPITAL-BASED, STANDALONE), AND GEOGRAPHY - TRENDS, ANALYSIS, AND FORECAST TILL 2024", published by Coherent Market Insights. Click on the link below to access the report –