AACC has issued a new guidance document detailing best practices that hospitals and other healthcare institutions should follow when running a point-of-care testing (POCT) program. One of the guideline’s major recommendations
is that POCT programs should be managed by interdisciplinary committees that include all relevant stakeholders ranging from laboratory experts to clinicians. This is especially important since, unlike with standard laboratory testing, many of the operators who perform point-of-care testing are healthcare providers who don’t have clinical laboratory training.
The document also discusses the numerous factors healthcare institutions should consider when deciding whether or not to use a POCT, one of the most important of which is determining if a faster test will actually impact patient outcomes. Once POCT is implemented, the healthcare team should ensure that it produces high quality results.
Providing updates on the latest literature since publication of the previous guideline, the AACC focuses on several key aspects of POCT process and patient outcomes such as:
- What is the value of an interdisciplinary committee to oversee POCT?
- Does education improve POCT performance?
- What is the optimal staffing model for POCT?
- Do proficiency testing (PT)/external quality assessment (EQA) programs improve POCT performance and patient outcomes?
- Does data management improve POCT outcomes?
- How should staff select POCT devices?
- How does POCT improve process?
Institutes are also advised to maintain ongoing training for point-of-care operators, to track specific POCT indicators that can flag areas in need of improvement, and to participate in a proficiency testing/external quality assessment program.
As POCT emerge for more and more conditions—including COVID-19—the guidance emphasizes that it is essential for laboratory professionals and clinicians to collaborate on POCT programs to ensure this testing benefits patients.
