For more than a decade, it has been expected that microfluidic technology would revolutionize the healthcare industry with simple, inexpensive, effective, and ubiquitous miniature diagnostic devices. To date, however, microfluidics has not yet been able to live up to these expectations. This fact has led to the recent development of new philosophies and methodologies for microfluidic diagnostics. In this Focus article, we will discuss some of the latest breakthroughs that could significantly impact medical diagnostics in the developing world.