Post-graduate training in Laboratory Medicine: Potential to fill a crucial gap in Indian healthcare system

Abstract

Quality Laboratory services with a widespread reach is the core of a healthcare system of the country. Diagnostic services at all levels requires technical expertise of different laboratory specialists. However the presence of all specialist together in one setup is always not possible due to limited number of trained manpower. Even today, diagnostic laboratory services remain unsupervised. To void this gap, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, in 1988, opened up the patient-centric department of Laboratory Medicine with a centralised specimen collection centre and a core laboratory performing the majority of the routine laboratory investigations, offering a one-window solution to both patients and clinicians. In 1997, a three-year postgraduate Masters degree (MD) in Laboratory Medicine was started. This medical specialty encompasses the art of test selection, test operation, and test interpretation to manage patients. It aligns with the recent technological advancement of automation and advanced instrumentation that are breaking boundaries of the traditional medical laboratories of pathology, biochemistry, and microbiology. This postgraduate model ensures that the laboratory services are accessible, affordable, and available to both patients and clinicians without compromising quality care. Laboratory Medicine is emerging as an answer to one of the several inadequacies and pitfalls of the Indian health system.