Diagnostic testing is a patient-centered activity, involving information gathering and clinical reasoning to determine a patient’s health condition. Conducted on a sample of urine, blood, or tissue, in many cases, this process can identify a health condition even before it is clinically apparent. For instance, doctors can spot out coronary artery disease by an imaging study indicating the presence of blockage in the coronary artery even if the patient has no symptoms. Continuing further, let’s study how these diagnostic testing has become essential for the purpose of diagnosing, screening, monitoring, and prognosis. Read on.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis involves finding out if an individual is affected with a certain medical condition. Initially, a doctor prescribes a test to help make a diagnosis. After the results of the test, the doctor will either implement an appropriate treatment for the condition or conduct additional diagnostic testing if necessary. For some serious conditions, doctors are required to know the nature of the disease and the degree of development. They also need to be aware of its stage, signs of progress, and if it is stable or in regression. Diagnostic tests not only help doctors understand all the aforementioned aspects, but they will also allow doctors to assess whether the chosen treatment is effective in curing or stopping the progression of a certain condition.
Monitoring
Under monitoring, a doctor checks if a condition is controlled, especially when dealing with chronic conditions such as diabetes, as monitoring becomes even critical. Such diseases, in many cases, may not get completely cured. That said, regular monitoring can prevent from worsening of the condition through the appropriate use of medicines and by adopting healthy lifestyle habits. Diagnostic testing helps doctors monitor important health parameters and track current conditions.
Related Blog: Who Should Be Tested For Diabetes And How Is It Diagnosed?
Screening
Screening intends to study patients who have no symptoms of a specific illness. Doctors perform screening tests to find out if a particular condition has begun to develop. In cases where a particular disease develops, doctors can then suggest a suitable course of action. These tests are generally done on a large segment of the population and are therefore relatively inexpensive and simpler to do. The main purpose of screening tests is to simply identify if an individual has a certain condition or not.
Prognosis
During prognosis, medical experts assess the probabilities of a person for developing a disease in the future. For instance, during genetic tests, doctors can analyze a patient’s predisposition for developing a certain disease and warn them to take precautions and be attentive towards the early signs and symptoms.
The Last Word
It is to be noted that diagnostic tests aren’t intended to treat or cure an illness, but are an important step towards determining the right treatment option. Meddo provides you access to full body checkup, diagnostic tests, and blood sample collection from the comfort of your home. Book a diagnostic test and consult an experienced doctor online with meddo to maintain social distancing while taking good care of your health. If you have any questions or wish to book diagnostic tests online, simply call 8752005200 or write to us at contact@meddo.in and we will take it from there.
