Point-of-Care Testing (POCT): The Applications, Advantages, and Challenges
Continuing Education Credits
Point of care testing (POCT) has been integrated into the healthcare system, creating a paradigm shift and offering faster results using portable, easy-to-use devices that can lead to improved patient outcomes. This course is intended to review the fundamentals of POCT, the advantages and disadvantages, and the applicable testing methodologies. In addition, the laboratory's role in POCT will be outlined to include the personnel, quality, and competency requirements for performing POCT.
Objectives
- Define point-of-care (POC) as it relates to test methods in the laboratory.
- Outline personnel and competency requirements for performing POCT.
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of POCT.
- Differentiate and explain test methods applicable to POCT.
- Explain the laboratory's role in POCT.
Course Outline
- Definition of Point of Care Testing
- Defining Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)
- Defining Point-of-Care Testing (POCT), continued
- Multiple contexts are used to define POCT. Match each statement to the context/aspect of POCT it describes.
- Crossing Boundaries in POCT
- True or False: The small, portable testing methods used in POCT cannot be used to perform testing in the central laboratory.
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Point-of-Care Testing
- Advantages of POCT
- Advantages of POCT, continued
- A hospital has multiple locations for laboratory testing of a basic metabolic panel (BMP). The intensive care unit (ICU) has a portable measuring device that performs this testing on whole blood. The main laboratory has two stationary instruments that can both perform a BMP on venipuncture samples, following centrifugation of the specimens. In this scenario, which of the following represent advant
- Disadvantages of POCT—Administrative
- Disadvantages of POCT—Administrative, continued
- Disadvantages of Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)—Testing Process
- Disadvantages of Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)—Testing Process, continued
- POCT is being considered at a hospital. Clinical and laboratory administrations have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of POCT. Which of the following points could be classified as possible disadvantages?
- Testing Methodologies for Point of Care Testing
- Summary of Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) Methods
- Complexity of POCT
- True or False: All POCT methods are classified as waived by CLIA.
- POCT Methods
- POCT Methods, continued
- True or False: The point-of-care coordinator (POCC) is organizing a procedure manual for a satellite location that performs only waived tests. She must rewrite the package insert into a PDF format for each rapid kit used for testing.
- The Laboratory's Role in Point of Care Testing (POCT)
- Laboratory Staff Involvement with Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)
- True or False: Testing staff working in point-of-care testing (POCT) locations in satellite clinics should have no direct communication with the main/central laboratory staff.
- Quality Assessment (QA) in Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)
- Quality Assessment (QA) in Point-of-Care Testing (POCT), continued
- True or False: Quality assessment (QA) and quality control (QC) testing are equivalent.
- Competency Assessment in POCT
- Mandatory Reporting of Test Results
- When assessing the competency of POCT personnel that perform activated clotting time (ACT) testing, which assessment tool is appropriate to use when documenting the direct observation of patient test performance?
- The laboratory supervisor assists with the competency assessment of the ICU staff who perform testing on the point-of-care instrumentation. Before beginning the assessment, she verifies that the test procedure steps from the package insert correspond to the checklist being used for assessment. The supervisor notes that one step is consistently omitted from the test performance. How can she correct
- An employee completed initial training and competency assessment for moderately complex point-of-care testing (POCT) in the emergency department on March 17, 2023. What is the next interval at which competency assessment should be performed following the completion of their initial training/competency assessment?
- True or False: A physician's office has recently added a benchtop analyzer utilizing test cartridges for molecular testing for COVID-19. The office should check with their state's public health lab for questions regarding the need for mandatory reporting of results.
- References
- References
Additional Information
Level of Instruction: Basic
Intended Audience: Medical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicians, laboratory supervisors, and laboratory managers. This course is also appropriate for MLS and MLT students and pathology residents.
Author Information: Sheryl A. Whitlock, MA. Ed, MT(ASCP)BB is the owner of ARK Laboratory Consulting, LLC, and works as a technical consultant for various laboratories. Sheryl served as the laboratory coordinator for the Student Health Services Laboratory at the University of Delaware for 15 years. Sheryl received her Master’s degree in Education from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania. She has more than 35 years of experience in laboratory science, including management, education, and hands-on bench experience. She has written and published textbooks and laboratory manuals, as well as having contributed to numerous online and print articles in the field of laboratory medicine.
Reviewer Information: Alice Travanty, BS, MLS(ASCP) was the Point-of-Care Coordinator for St. Joseph Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, until her recent retirement. She serves as a technical consultant for Tosa Pediatrics. Alice is the author of the article "Connectivity Aids Compliance" in Advance for Administrators of the Laboratory, Vol 20, Issue 11, page 18. She graduated from Marquette University with a degree in Medical Technology and holds a Point-of-Care Specialist certificate from AACC.
Course Description: Point-of-care testing (POCT) has been integrated into the healthcare system, creating a paradigm shift and offering faster results using portable, easy-to-use devices that can lead to improved patient outcomes. This course is intended to review the fundamentals of POCT, the advantages and disadvantages, and the applicable testing methodologies. In addition, the laboratory's role in POCT will be outlined to include the personnel, quality, and competency requirements for performing POCT.