Point of Care7 Jun 2021 14:58
'One thing most can agree on is that point of care happens as close to the patient as possible. This is usually in an effort to diagnose and treat a patient in the fastest manner possible. Traditionally, diagnostic testing has occurred in a complex laboratory. Many manufacturers and healthcare practitioners have been pushing for decades to decentralize some of this testing, and bring the testing and the diagnoses closer to the patient. This is all in an effort to improve care and patient outcomes.
Where is POCT Done?
Point of Care testing can be at the bedside, or near the patient. The most general way to think about POCT is that it’s any testing performed in a healthcare setting that’s not done in the lab.
This implies that POCT can be performed in the following settings:
Hospitals
Urgent Care Clinics
General Practitioner’s Offices
Retail Clinics
Why is it Important?
The move to bring testing closer to the patient is ongoing. The thinking is that the quicker the diagnosis, the better the healthcare outcomes. That being said, there is a balance between quick diagnoses and accurate, reliable results. It’s critical that healthcare professionals understand the importance of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and precisi'