Diagnositc tests and survery tests vary in their level of accuracy for an individual patient.
Survey tests and diagnostic tests are both critical for their purposes of searching for scientific answers. However, they can serve very different purposes. Survey tests work with a wide number of people to learn something about the average person. Diagnostic tests seek to discover what is wrong with one individual.
Diagnostic Tests
Diagnostic Test are most frequently performed by medical doctors to determine what disease or illness a person may have. They use these test to narrow down the cause of a disease from the multitude of possibilities. Standard diagnostic tests include x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood examinations. These range from non-invasive, to minimally invasive to invasive. Generally, doctors try to keep the intrusion as low as possible while still finding an accurate diagnosis.
Survey Tests
Survey testing, in contrast to diagnostic testing, tests a wide number of people to find a scientific result. While it does not guarantee accuracy for every individual, it points to likely causes for certain symptoms. In a medical sense, this means that groups are separated into control and experimental groups. The control groups are given a placebo drug or procedure that has a neutral result on the patients. The progress of the control group and experimental group are then compared after a period of time.
Differences Between Tests
Diagnostic tests and survey tests both point to likely solutions for medical problems, although neither can be one hundred percent correct. Diagnostic tests have more reliability because they are a test on the individual patient, however they are more expensive and more time consuming for that individual. A survey test is quicker because the physican can rely on previous research to make a quick analysis and prescription for a patient. However, these take more preparation time as the research can take months or years.
Other Differences
In any case, a physician will rely on both survey tests and diagnostic tests to help them make a proper prescription. Diagnostic tests are payed for by private and public insurance and are conducted in hospitals and clinics around the country. Survey tests are funded by national research organizations, the government and research universities. They are conducted in scientific settings at labs or universities.
Tags: Diagnostic tests, diagnostic tests, individual patient, number people, Survey tests, tests both
