The Government of India has decided to provide free diagnostic tests, which include several blood tests, x-rays and advanced CT scans, for those visiting public health facilities. This scheme will be available for anyone who is visiting public health facility (all village and district hospitals). According to the report, the cost of drugs and diagnostics constitute about 70% of health expenditure in India and are estimated to push 5 crore people below the poverty line (BPL) annually.
The health ministry has also consulted some of the biggest companies in the diagnostic sector, including SRL, Dr Lal PathLabs, Quest Diagnostics, Mahajan Imaging and Star Imaging to thrash out all service provider issues.
The scheme to be implemented comes under the National Health Mission, which has always seen the allocated money remaining unspent.
GK Questions
- What is the first screening test commonly employed for HIV? ELISA – Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay.
- What is the most method used in molecular biology for detection of a specific DNA sequence in DNA samples? Southern Blotting
- The common technique used to study gene expression by detection of RNA (or isolated mRNA) in a sample is _________? Northern Blotting
- What is the name of the technique which permits early diagnosis of malignant diseases such as leukemia and lymphomas? PCR – Polymerase Chain Reaction
- What is the abbreviation of CT Scan? Computerized Tomography Scan
