Modernising laboratory practice in Zimbabwe is crucial for more successful medical treatment and preparing future generations for the profession.
Speaking at the inaugural annual meeting of the Medical Laboratory and Clinical Scientists Council of Zimbabwe (MLCSCZ) in Harare last week, former Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo said laboratory tests were the mainstay of medicine.
"Definitive diagnosis requires laboratory tests. Clinical Laboratory test results are the backbone of medicine," said Dr Moyo, who is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (UK) and a registered Chemical Pathologist, who attended the meeting as a guest of honour.
Up to 70 percent of physician decisions regarding patient diagnosis and therapy are based on laboratory test results.
Dr Moyo emphasised the need for professionals to have advanced knowledge and clinical practice which has been made apparent by the recent advances in genomics, the explosion of medical technologies and the role of ICTs in clinical diagnostics.
"With a plethora of clinical laboratory tests and new molecular methodologies being added to the clinical laboratory test menu, clinicians are challenged to keep abreast with the latest in laboratory services. This has led many professionals in the field in the United States, Europe and some parts of Africa to establish and deploy a professional doctorate in clinical laboratory medicine.
"This is meant to address this unmet need for advanced knowledge in laboratory medicine," said Dr Moyo.
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He appreciated the efforts made by the council in ensuring that quality laboratory results are provided and high standards maintained through the monitoring and inspection of medical laboratory services in the country with the full support of the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
The meeting was attended by Health Ministry acting chief director Dr Stephen Banda and other high-ranking dignitaries, including the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care Mr Josiah Makombe, head of the Health Professions Authority Mr Ranganai Mubvumbi, the registrar of the MLCSCZ Mrs Agnes Chigora and the chairperson of the University of Zimbabwe Department of Laboratory Diagnostics and Research Dr Ian Machingura-Ruredzo.
Also present were commissioners from the Health Services Commission, newly appointed secretary general of the Health Professions Authority Mrs Clotilda Chimbwanda, chairpersons and registrars of sister medical councils, representatives of other Government departments and of private laboratories.
