Emerging Global Challenges in Medical Laboratory Science: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) is still an integral part of modern health care that plays an important role in illness diagnosis, surveillance, prevention and therapeutic management. Laboratory technologies have evolved greatly, but the profession is confronted with several worldwide concerns that jeopardise patient outcomes and the delivery of healthcare. These include workforce shortages, antimicrobial resistance, emerging infectious diseases, poor laboratory infrastructure in low resource settings, quality assurance concerns, automation and artificial intelligence integration, ethical issues, biosafety risks, inadequate funding, and disparities in access to diagnostic services. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the inadequacies of laboratory systems around the world and the vital role of medical laboratory personnel. This narrative overview describes the current significant difficulties affecting Medical Laboratory Science worldwide, their impact on health care systems and potential solutions to enhance such systems. Meeting these problems will need coordinated action by governments, health care institutions, professional organisations and international agencies to strengthen laboratory systems and improve global health outcomes.

Keywords: Medical Laboratory Science; Global Health; Laboratory Workforce; Antibiotic Resistance; Quality Assurance; Diagnostics; Artificial Intelligence; Laboratory Infrastructure; Biosafety

Citation

Kingsley DE, Johnkennedy N, Promise NA. Emerging Global Challenges in Medical Laboratory Science: A Narrative Review. WebLog J Med Sci. wjms.2026.g2702. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21706664