Value of Pathology

Today, pathology testing services help in the early detection and prevention of disease, in timely clinical diagnosis and to monitor response to treatment at all stages of a person’s life and in reducing many leading cuases of disease burden in the Australian community.

• As part of maternal-antenatal care, pathology testing helps to detect and prevent possible problems with health of the mother or baby  - e.g. mothers may be tested for iron levels (anaemia) and have glucose testing (gestational diabetes) and the fetus may be tested for chromosomal abnormalities.

• Cancers - where pathology testing is an absolute requirement for diagnosis of new cases and is used to determine treatment options, predict prognosis, monitior disease progress and evaluate effectiveness of treatment.

• Children receive immunisations to prevent a range of diseases such as polio, mumps, measles and rubella and, during teenage years, investigation of obesity.

• Young adults may be tested for diabetes and have genetic testing for particular disorders.

• Adults may be tested for cholesterol, diabetes, heart problems, thyroid conditions, liver disease and arthritis.

• Women have Pap smears for detection of cervical cancer and men have the PSA test for prostate cancer.

• Cardiovascular disease  where pathology testing is used to detect early those at high risk and most likley to benefit from intervention  - e.g. pathology testing is reqired to determine patient suitability  and eligibility for often expensive drug treatments such as statins, cholesterol lowering drugs used for patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

Sources:  LabTests Online at www.labtestsonline.org.au and Pathology Professionals - Working Together for Your Health brochure of the Pathology Associations Committee, now Council (PAC), of which NCOPP is a member.