1. Point of care testing in a large urban academic medical center: Evolving test menu and clinical applications
- Author
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Lee-Lewandrowski, Elizabeth, Gregory, Kimberly, and Lewandrowski, Kent
- Subjects
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POINT-of-care testing , *EMERGENCY medical services , *HEALTH outcome assessment , *ACADEMIC medical centers , *FECAL occult blood tests , *URINALYSIS - Abstract
Abstract: Introduction: There have been many reports describing individual POCT technologies but there are no recent studies describing the organizational scope and impact of a POCT program. Methods: Our menu of POCT tests has increased to 26 and the test volume to 664,287 tests/year equivalent to 14.5% of the volume of the central core laboratory. POCT is performed in nearly all inpatient units and in a variety of outpatient settings. Results: Cumulatively 84.6% of the test volume and most testing sites can be accounted for by 4 traditional tests (bedside glucose testing, fecal occult blood, dipstick urinalysis and activated clotting time). Most POCT tests are not performed because of a true medical necessity but rather to improve the efficiency of clinical operations. Conclusion: We are experiencing a significant increase in requests for new POCT tests. Unlike established high volume conventional POC tests, these new requests originate from specialized services seeking to improve the efficiency of clinical operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010
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