Devex: Opinion: Early detection and diagnosis a critical link for effective NCD management
Jan Kimpen, lead of the clinical leadership team at Philips

“Accurate and early diagnosis is crucial in order to overcome the noncommunicable disease burden, and must be integrated with prevention and treatment — particularly in low- and middle-income countries that are hit the hardest, with 86 percent of premature NCD deaths occurring in these nations. … Looking at the whole care spectrum, we want to find out how health systems can respond to the NCD challenge by bringing early diagnostics into the common pathways of NCD management. … I strongly believe that by following these three steps, we can make significant strides in fighting NCDs: 1. Develop and strengthen early detection and diagnosis capacity in primary care systems. … 2. Educate and empower community-level health workers with basic tools and training to facilitate early diagnosis. … 3. Step up to the NCD challenge by designing and implementing efficient policies and solutions. … More can and should be done to achieve an integrated health care system in which early detection and diagnosis play a key role to tackling NCDs, thereby improving people’s lives” (10/10).