For India’s diagnostics labs, revenue from regular, non-covid-19 testing procedures has crashed, while the demand for testing for covid-19 has soared.
Dr Lal PathLabs Ltd is one of the major private laboratory chains offering covid-19 tests in India. In an interview, the company’s chairman, Dr.
Arvind Lal, spoke about the problems faced by the diagnostics industry, the testing strategy of the government and the way forward.
Edited excerpts: How has the covid-19 pandemic impacted the diagnostics sector in India? Like other businesses, the diagnostics sector is also facing severe headwinds and patient volumes have come down significantly.