Health

Health article series: exploring the role of the laboratory and its impact

August 01, 2022

Global

Health article series: exploring the role of the laboratory and its impact

August 01, 2022

Global
Amanda Stucke

Principal, Health Policy & Insights, Economist Impact

Amanda is a principal in the Health Policy & Insights Practice at Economist Impact, based in London. She collaborates within a global, multidisciplinary team to lead and deliver robust, high-visibility research and analysis programs across the public and private global health ecosystem. Her main area of focus is unlocking the potential of health to drive growth and development at the population level, including across topics such as ageing, healthspan and longevity; health security; AMR; health investment and finance; workforce wellbeing; and social and commercial determinants of health.

Amanda brings approaches such as systems thinking and design, strategic foresight, policy and comparative analysis, economic modelling, decision science, and translational research and writing to bridge the gap between evidence and practice. Prior to joining Economist Impact, she led a major health innovation initiative for the Surgeon General of the US Navy, and executed an economic study of cancer screening with the Ministry of Health in Greenland. Amanda has led and contributed to other global health initiatives in countries such as Brazil, Bangladesh and Haiti.

Amanda holds a masters degree in Health Policy & Clinical Practice from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She has also received training as a foresight practitioner from the School of International Futures.

Below, we present a content series which explores the role of the clinical laboratory across the health ecosystem. Covering topics such as cardiovascular disease, COVID-19, and traumatic brain injury, these articles and corresponding infographics offer insights that reveal the importance of the laboratory in the pursuit of sustainable, resilient and high-quality healthcare around the globe.

Exploring future possibilities to improve evaluation and management of traumatic brain injury provides insights about current challenges and opportunities associated with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) assessment and management. Limitations of existing diagnostic tools, lack of standard definition and guidelines, and poor awareness among patients and physicians create a challenging landscape for understanding the risks associated with mTBI globally. This article also explores the current evidence around novel biomarkers as opportunities for improving evaluation and management of traumatic brain injury.

 

 

Download TBI Article

 

This infographic provides a snapshot of key data points and insights around the limitations in current approaches for mTBI evaluation and management. It also shows advancements in the use of biomarkers that have the potential to transform the assessment and care for mTBI patients.

 

 

 

Download TBI Infographic

 

Predicting heart disease: The Future of CVD risk assessment offers thoughtful questions and insights about current challenges and opportunities associated with cardiovascular (CVD) risk assessment. While over 350 risk stratification models have been developed globally, inconsistencies and variable sensitivity to specific outcomes creates a challenging landscape for understanding CVD risk globally. This article explores the current evidence around novel biomarkers and other factors, such as mitigating the impact of health disparities, as opportunities for improving CVD risk stratification in the future.

 

 

Download CVD Article

 

This infographic provides a snapshot of key data points and insights around CVD risk prediction, with a focus on ischemic heart disease (IHD). It identifies the core circulatory biomarkers that have the potential to improve cardiovascular risk prediction.

 

 

 

Download CVD Infographic

 

The role of covid-19 testing, data and informatics in getting back to normal provides a view into the landscape of testing for covid-19, and highlights the importance of continued testing around the world. Various technologies, including artificial intelligence, electronic health records and telehealth will underscore this by synthesizing the critical data that testing provides and maximizing how this data can be used to combat the pandemic and build resiliency within global health systems.

 

 

 

Download COVID-19 Article

 

This infographic provides a snapshot of key data points and insights around covid-19 testing and effective testing strategy.  It also presents a future outlook on how countries can use testing, data and informatics as tools to improve healthcare outcomes.

 

 

 

Download COVID-19 Infographic

 

 Women's health: A diagnostic approach to a lifetime of wellness provides a holistic view of women’s health, focusing on how early diagnosis and prevention can help women achieve a lifetime of wellness. Success depends in part on the use of innovative diagnostic tools such as testing for biomarkers to identify diseases in women before they advance to a more critical stage. This article explores the current state of women’s healthcare and the new tools and ideas that can better secure their wellness.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This infographic provides a snapshot of key data points and insights around women's health beyond reproductive health. It also shows how we can use testing, investments in research, and promoting health literacy will help women achieve a lifetime of wellness.

 

 

 

Download Women's Health Infographic

 
 
 
Improving cancer risk assessment and prognosis: the role of Multianalyte Assays with Algorithmic Analyses offers three short case studies to illustrate how  MAAAs can contribute to the assessment and management of cancer in three cancers: ovarian, liver and lung. This article explores how MAAAs are relatively common in ovarian cancer, but are less established in liver cancer, where they are mostly used to augment the use of imaging technology. In lung cancer, the last decade has seen the establishment of biomarker testing for screening at the centre of best practice.
 
 
 
 
This infographic provides a snapshot of key data points and insights around biomarker testing and Multianalyte Assays with Algorithmic Analysis (MAAA). It also presents the landscape of adoption between regions around the world.

 

 

Download Oncology Infographic

 
 
How agile laboratories enable healthcare systems to innovate new models of care provides insights into the impact of laboratory services on clinical pathways and patient outcomes. This article explores the role of clinical laboratory beyond processing diagnostic tests, to providing vital information, to informing screening, prevention, early diagnosis, tailored treatment, and monitoring and management of human diseases and population health.
 
 
 
 
 
 
This infographic provides a snapshot of key data points and insights around clinical laboratories as an integral part of the healthcare continuum. It also shows the importance of agility and its involvement to meet current health system challenges. 

 

 

Download Clinical Laboratories Infographic

 

 

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