Early diagnosis is not always an unmitigated good, we need to make it useful for patients and clinicians

The importance of early diagnosis, particularly in cancer, has been covered widely in the media. Improving early diagnosis rates is a politically popular target. Innovation and new technology have also been proposed by the government—for example, through Academic Health Science Networks—as means to stimulate economic growth. UK policy emphasises the need to support fast track processes to approve new interventions for NHS use. This has resulted in calls for established and new technologies to be rapidly developed—for example, artificial intelligence, in vitro diagnostics, population screening tests for multiple cancer markers, and digital interventions such as remote monitoring.1Post-Brexit, the UK is no longer required to adhere to EU stipulations on medical device development and licensing procedures. In early 2024 the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency published a “roadmap” as a framework for regulation of medical devices.2 New UK regulation is planned to tackle the classification of medical devices, claims manufacturers can…
Read Original Article: Early diagnosis is not always an unmitigated good, we need to make it useful for patients and clinicians »