Diagnostics/Tools are involved in every stage of the continuum of care. They help to determine the probability that a person will become sick (risk), identify the disease (diagnosis), determine the likelihood of recurrence (prognosis), selection of the right therapeutic to treat the disease most effectively (theranostics) and, finally, determine whether the treatment is working (monitoring).

There are several different types of Diagnostics: (1) point-of-care diagnostic tests that are run bed-side, such as blood gas analysis; (2) tests that are run in a lab of the hospital, such as immunoassays; (3) kits that are sold for use in doctor’s offices [sample collection or analysis] or even at home by the patient; and (4) tests that are run in large-scale reference labs, requiring high volume throughput or exotic technology.