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Curriculum India's Diagnostics Industry

India's Diagnostics Industry

How medical tests became a big business: pathology labs and chains, the collection centre model, radiology and scans, test pricing and cross-subsidies, home sample collection, quality and accreditation, public labs and free diagnostics, COVID testing's boom, AI in diagnostics, and a recap.

  1. The Diagnostics Market An overview of India's diagnostics market, split between pathology tests and radiology scans, and why most labs are small and unorganised. 📄 Read-aloud
  2. Lab Chains and Hub-and-Spoke How lab chains use a hub-and-spoke model with collection centres feeding samples to central labs, gaining scale economies over standalone labs. 📄 Read-aloud
  3. Radiology and Imaging How X-ray, ultrasound, CT and MRI centres need expensive machines and radiologists, why imaging is concentrated in cities, and the shortage of radiologists. 📄 Read-aloud
  4. Test Pricing and Referral Fees How test prices vary widely between labs, why some doctors receive referral commissions (cuts) from labs, and why this is unethical and banned. 📄 Read-aloud
  5. Home Sample Collection How home sample collection grew after COVID-19, the role of phlebotomists and apps, and how online platforms like PharmEasy and Tata 1mg entered diagnostics. 📄 Read-aloud
  6. Lab Quality and NABL Accreditation Why lab quality varies, how NABL accreditation certifies labs, why few small labs are accredited, and the risk of wrong results. 📄 Read-aloud
  7. India's Diagnostics Industry: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on diagnostics, lab chains, radiology, pricing and home collection. 5 questions
  8. Free Diagnostics in Public Hospitals How the Free Diagnostics Service Initiative launched in 2015 aims to provide essential tests free in public facilities, often through public-private partnerships. 📄 Read-aloud
  9. COVID-19 Testing Boom How COVID-19 testing created a huge temporary boom for labs in 2020-21, how RT-PCR capacity scaled up, and what happened after demand fell. 📄 Read-aloud
  10. Price Wars and Consolidation How new entrants and online platforms sparked price wars in diagnostics, and how chains consolidated through acquisitions. 📄 Read-aloud
  11. Point-of-Care Tests How rapid tests like glucometers, pregnancy kits and malaria tests give results in minutes without labs, and how they help rural areas. 📄 Read-aloud
  12. AI in Diagnostics How artificial intelligence reads X-rays, scans and pathology slides, Indian startups like Qure.ai, and the promise and risks of AI diagnosis. 📄 Read-aloud
  13. Diagnostics: Recap A recap of India's diagnostics industry. 📄 Read-aloud

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