Point of Care Test (MA-POCT)

FEATURES:

• This contrasts with the historical pattern in which testing was wholly or mostly confined to the medical laboratory, which entailed sending off specimens away from the point of care and then waiting hours or days to learn the results, during which time care must continue without the desired information
• The driving notion behind POCT is to bring the test conveniently and immediately to the patient. This increases the likelihood that the patient, physician and care team will receive the results quicker, which allows for immediate clinical management decisions to be made. POCT includes: blood glucose testing, blood gas and electrolytes analysis, rapid coagulation testing (PT/INR, Alere, Microvisk Ltd), rapid cardiac markers diagnostics (TRIAGE, Alere), drugs of abuse screening, urine strips testing, pregnancy testing, faecal occult blood analysis, food pathogens screening, haemoglobin diagnostics (HemoCue), infectious disease testing and cholesterol screening
• POCT is often accomplished through the use of transportable, portable and handheld instruments (eg, blood glucose meter, nerve conduction study device) and test kits (eg. CRP, HBA1C, Homocysteine, HIV salivary assay etc). Small bench analyzers or fixed equipment can also be used when a handheld device is not available, the goal is to collect the specimen and obtain the results in a very short period of time at or near the location of the patient so that the treatment plan can be adjusted as necessary before the patient leaves
• Cheaper, faster and smarter POCT devices have increased the use of POCT approaches by making it cost-effective for many diseases, such as diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and acute coronary syndrome

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