The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has begun the process of revising the current National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL), saying that considerable time has passed since the first such list was released in 2019. The Council has invited relevant stakeholders to offer suggestions on adding or deleting diagnostic tests to the current list by the end of February.
The NEDL lists the essential and most basic tests that should be available at various levels of healthcare facilities in the country, including at the village level, in sub-health centres, health and wellness centres, and primary health centres.
In 2018, the World Health Organisation had recommended the development and implementation of an NEDL to facilitate the availability of in-vitro diagnostics across the various tiers of the healthcare pyramid, in facilities with or without an onsite laboratory. ICMR then released India’s first NEDL in 2019 to make the availability of diagnostics an essential component of the healthcare system.
