Roche launches a new system for timely cancer diagnostics targeted patient care

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced the launch of the BenchMark ULTRA PLUS system, its newest advanced tissue staining platform. The system enables quick and accurate test results so clinicians can make timely decisions regarding a patient’s care journey.

“Over one million cases of cancer are diagnosed in Africa each year². With many African communities living in rural areas or far from healthcare centres, waiting for a diagnosis is often one of the most stressful times. The BenchMark ULTRA PLUS enables pathologists to provide quick and accurate results that help inform patient treatment options, timeously.” says Alan Yates Ad-Interim General Manager South Africa & SADC markets, Roche Diagnostics.

Cancer and other abnormal cells can be characterised by biochemical markers from within the cells. By applying chemical solutions to tissue on glass slides with the BenchMark ULTRA PLUS, a healthcare professional can identify these markers to determine the presence or absence of key drivers that feed the unhealthy cells and, in many cases, the type of therapy that could be used to combat them³.

The new BenchMark ULTRA PLUS system continues the evolution of the BenchMark series, which revolutionised cancer diagnostics by fully automating processes that used to be performed manually, one slide at a time.

Lab personnel will be able to manage their activities more efficiently as a result of simplified software and streamlined productivity and quality control. These enhancements can help support the quicker delivery of test results for patients who are waiting for a diagnosis.

The new system has several innovations such as new intuitive software, remote monitoring features, an integrated touchscreen for a more optimised user experience, and a more environmentally sustainable waste system and product packaging^1&4.

The BenchMark ULTRA PLUS system will be available in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia and Mauritius in 2023.

Low Quality Healthcare Is Increasing the Burden of Illness and Health Costs Globally

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim

Poor quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels, according to a new joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank Group.

Today, inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatment, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices, or providers who lack adequate training and expertise prevail in all countries.

The situation is worst in low and middle-income countries where 10 percent of hospitalized patients can expect to acquire an infection during their stay, as compared to seven percent in high income countries. This is despite hospital acquired infections being easily avoided through better hygiene, improved infection control practices and appropriate use of antimicrobials. At the same time, one in ten patients is harmed during medical treatment in high income countries.

“Without quality health services, universal health coverage will remain an empty promise,” said OECD Secretary-General Ángel Gurría.

These are just some of the highlights from Delivering Quality Health Services – a Global Imperative for Universal Health Coverage. The report also highlights that sickness associated with poor quality health care imposes additional expenditure on families and health systems.

There has been some progress in improving quality, for example in survival rates for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Even so, the broader economic and social costs of poor quality care, including long-term disability, impairment and lost productivity, are estimated to amount to trillions of dollars each year.

“Good health is the foundation of a country’s human capital, and no country can afford low-quality or unsafe healthcare,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “Low-quality care disproportionately impacts the poor, which is not only morally reprehensible, it is economically unsustainable for families and entire countries.” 

Without quality health services, universal health coverage will remain an empty promise – OECD Secretary-General Ángel Gurría

“At WHO we are committed to ensuring that people everywhere can obtain health services when and where they need them,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We are equally committed to ensuring that those services are good quality. Quite honestly, there can be no universal health coverage without quality care.”

“Without quality health services, universal health coverage will remain an empty promise,” said OECD Secretary-General Ángel Gurría. “The economic and social benefits are clear and we need to see a much stronger focus on investing in and improving quality to create trust in health services and give everyone access to high-quality, people-centred health services.” 

Other key findings in the report paint a picture of quality issues in healthcare around the world:

• Health care workers in seven low- and middle-income African countries were only able to make accurate diagnoses one third to three quarters of the time, and clinical guidelines for common conditions were followed less than 45 percent of the time on average.
• Research in eight high-mortality countries in the Caribbean and Africa found that effective, quality maternal and child health services are far less prevalent than suggested by just looking at access to services. For example, just 28 percent of antenatal care, 26 percent of family planning services and 21 percent of sick-child care across these countries qualified as ‘effective.’
• Around 15 percent of hospital expenditure in high-income countries is due to mistakes in care or patients being infected while in hospitals.

The three organizations outline the steps governments, health services and their workers, together with citizens and patients, urgently need to take to improve health care quality.  Governments should lead the way with strong national health care quality policies and strategies. Health systems should focus on competent care and user experience to ensure confidence in the system. Citizens should be empowered and informed to actively engage in health care decisions and in designing new models of care to meet the needs of their local communities. Health care workers should see patients as partners and commit themselves to providing and using data to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of health care.

First-ever WHO list of essential diagnostic tests to improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes

WHO published on Tuesday its first Essential Diagnostics List, a catalogue of the tests needed to diagnose the most common conditions as well as a number of global priority diseases.

“An accurate diagnosis is the first step to getting effective treatment,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “No one should suffer or die because of a lack of diagnostic services, or because the right tests were not available.”

The list concentrates on in vitro tests – i.e. tests of human specimens like blood and urine. It contains 113 products: 58 tests are listed for detection and diagnosis of a wide range of common conditions, providing an essential package that can form the basis for screening and management of patients.  The remaining 55 tests are designed for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of “priority” diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis B and C, human papillomavirus and syphilis.

 An estimated 46% of adults with Type 2 diabetes worldwide are undiagnosed, risking serious health complications and higher health costs. Late diagnosis of infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis increases the risk of spread and makes them more difficult to treat.

Some of the tests are particularly suitable for primary health care facilities, where laboratory services are often poorly resourced and sometimes non-existent; for example, tests that can rapidly diagnose a child for acute malaria or glucometers to test diabetes.  These tests do not require electricity or trained personnel.  Other tests are more sophisticated and therefore intended for larger medical facilities.

“Our aim is to provide a tool that can be useful to all countries, to test and treat better, but also to use health funds more efficiently by concentrating on the truly essential tests,” says Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines, Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals. “Our other goal is to signal to countries and developers that the tests in the list must be of good quality, safe and affordable.”

For each category of test, the Essential Diagnostics List specifies the type of test and intended use, format, and if appropriate for primary health care or for health facilities with laboratories. The list also provides links to WHO Guidelines or publications and, when available, to prequalified products.

Similar to the WHO Essential Medicines List, which has been in use for four decades, the Essential Diagnostics List is intended to serve as a reference for countries to update or develop their own list of essential diagnostics. In order to truly benefit patients, national governments will need to ensure appropriate and quality-assured supplies, training of health care workers and safe use. To that end, WHO will provide support to countries as they adapt the list to the local context.

The Essential Diagnostics List was developed following an extensive consultation within WHO and externally. The draft list was then considered for review by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on In-Vitro Diagnostics – a group of 19 experts with global representation.

WHO will update the Essential Diagnostics List on a regular basis. In the coming months, WHO will issue a call for applications to add categories to the next edition. The list will expand significantly over the next few years, as it incorporates other important areas including antimicrobial resistance, emerging pathogens, neglected tropical diseases and additional noncommunicable diseases.