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Pr. Alison Holmes
Director of the Fleming Initiative
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September 22, 2025
RESPIRATORY HEALTH
Expert Perspective
Protecting Patient Pathways and Healthcare Delivery through the Intelligent Use of Diagnostics
Insights from Professor Alison Holmes at the ESCMID 2025 Cepheid Symposium
During the ESCMID 2025 congress in Vienna, Austria, Pr. Alison Holmes, a renowned expert in Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London and the Director of the Fleming Initiative, spoke about the critical role diagnostics play in protecting patient pathways and healthcare delivery. Pr. Holmes has extensive experience in various health services, including many years within the United Kingdom’s National Health Service.
Pr. Holmes first introduced the Fleming Initiative, jointly established by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, brings together scientists, policymakers, clinicians, commercial partners and the public to provide equitable solutions to antimicrobial resistance at a global scale.
Her passion for diagnostics was clear as she contended that diagnostics are vital for numerous aspects of healthcare and are not solely for therapeutic decision-making. She challenged the audience to rethink the role of diagnostics beyond traditional therapeutic contexts and provided compelling reasons for the intelligent use of diagnostics in healthcare:
- Protecting Patient Pathways: Diagnostics help safeguard the routes patients take through healthcare systems, ensuring that interventions are timely and appropriate.
- Ensuring Safe Healthcare Delivery: Accurate diagnostics are crucial for delivering safe healthcare, preventing misdiagnoses, and promoting effective treatments.
- Data Generation: Diagnostics generate valuable data, which is increasingly important in the era of AI and machine learning, aiding in better health management and predictive analysis.
- Optimizing Infection Management and Prevention: Efficient diagnostics play a pivotal role in managing and preventing infections, contributing to overall public health.
- Representation of Populations’ Monitoring: Diagnostics address the issue of representation of populations’ monitoring, aiding in informed decision-making, and policy development.
- Platform for Real-world Research: Diagnostics provide a foundation for conducting real-world research, enhancing evidence-based practices and innovations.
Pr. Holmes also emphasized the importance of the correct use of antibiotics. She discussed the critical role of diagnostics in ensuring antibiotics are used appropriately, which is essential in combating AMR. By utilizing diagnostics effectively, healthcare providers can make more informed decisions about antibiotic prescriptions, thus safeguarding both patient health and the efficacy of antibiotics for future generations.
Pr. Holmes’ insights at the ESCMID 2025 Cepheid Symposium underscore the transformative potential of the intelligent use of diagnostics in healthcare, inspiring a reimagining of the role of diagnostics that is pivotal in advancing patient care, improving healthcare systems, and fostering innovation in medical research.
The Fleming Initiative's mission is ambitious and can only be achieved in partnership with others. The collaborative approach further exemplifies the importance of united efforts in tackling the global threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Cepheid and the Fleming Initiative announced a global partnership in September 2024 during the UNGA meeting in New York.
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