Better infectious disease diagnostics is crucial to tackling antimicrobial resistance

Diagnostics can help us know if antimicrobials are needed and which specific antimicrobial might work best. Yet diagnostics are woefully underused and undervalued in the management of infectious disease, in all income settings. Without access to diagnostics, healthcare workers often rely on empirical prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics. This results in the inappropriate use of antibiotics, leading to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). There are multiple reasons for this lack of prioritisation of diagnostics, including limited evidence of their cost-effectiveness both at the patient level and in the broader context of AMR and the lack of laboratory capacity in terms of workforce and infrastructure and resources.