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POC Demographics
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Ever wonder what devices, connectivity
system, or LIS that POCCs in your region, local
POC group, or through the country use in their
program?
Click here |
2012 POC Calendar
2011
POC Calendar
POC Groups
WEB LINKS
GlycemicControl.net
LabTestsOnline.org
NACB Guidelines
Journal of Point
of Care Testing
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Nominations
for the 2012
POCC of the Year Award due March 15!
This
award recognizes outstanding achievements in the POCT
field by a person primarily responsible for an
institution’s POCT program and consists of a glass
trophy, $500 cash and funding of up to $1,350 for travel
and attendance expenses at the AACC annual meeting.
The 2012 honoree will be recognized during the AACC
CPOCT Division meeting, July 24, 2012 during the AACC
Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo.
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A
Look at Emerging
Cardiac Biomarkers
What Type of
Analyte will be the Most Informative?
By Genna
Rollins, January 2012 Clinical Laboratory News

Serum-based
biomarkers have been integral to the advancement of the
field of cardiology during the past half-century, and
with better knowledge about their role in the
pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD), their
utility has expanded from merely aiding in the diagnosis
of disease to being important in predicting risk and
prognosis. Some, such as the natriuretic peptides,
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its amino-terminal
pro peptide equivalent, N-terminal-proBNP (NT-proBNP),
also are being actively explored as a means of guiding
therapy. Novel biomarkers continue to be evaluated,
along with new lines of investigation, including
genomics and metabolomics, which hold the potential for
even greater insights into CVD and its treatments.
More > |
Advanced Applications
of
Cardiac Biomarkers
A review of scientific studies explores the value of
biomarkers in assessing risk and prognosis.
Online
Extra by David Plaut and Audrey Quinlivan, Advance for
Administrators of the Laboratory, Jan 2012
Coronary disease is the most prevalent lethal hazard of
hypertension, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and
cigarette smoking. A number of biomarkers will detect
cardiac damage, which makes them useful not only for the
diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but also
to detect persons at risk of an AMI as well as for
prognostic information following an MI or invasive
procedures. The value of serum biomarkers in assessing
risk and prognosis is discussed in this review.
Studies by Daniels et al. Some 957 older adults,
39 of whom had detectable troponin (Tn), were studied by
Daniels et al.1 for seven years.
The risk ratio was
determined at the end of the study period: Apparently
healthy adults with detectable Tn or elevated N-terminal
pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels are at
increased risk of death (risk = 2.0 and 1.8
respectively). Those with both Tn and NT-proBNP
elevations are at even higher risk (3.0);1 this
increased risk persists for years.
More > |
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Alere Completes Acquisitions of
MAS/RALS and LDS/AegisPOC
Acquisitions Compliment Alere's Vision of Single
Platform Connectivity for POCT
Alere Inc. announces that it has completed the
acquisition of Medical Automation Systems, Inc. (MAS)
and Laboratory Data Systems, Inc. (LDS). These
acquisitions strengthen Alere’s vision for open
connectivity architecture at the point-of-care (POC) and
in the critical care setting. Currently, MAS’s RALS® and
LDS’s AegisPOC™ data management systems are installed in
nearly 2,000 hospitals throughout the US and are
interfaced to more than 100 POC devices.
For more
information or if you have any specific
questions,
click here. |
Connectivity Aids Compliance
More Tests Means More Requirements
Advance for Administrators of the Laboratory,
At the Bedside, By Alice Travanty, BS, MT(ASCP)
As the number of point-of-care tests (POCTs) expands
rapidly, the need to meet more regulatory requirements
also increases. Agencies such as the Joint Commission,
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COLA and
the College of American Pathologists have set standards
for POCT, including waived and non-waived testing, to
ensure quality results.
Because POCT is often performed by non-laboratory
personnel in all areas of the hospital, documentation of
compliance can be difficult to achieve. Connectivity-the
electronic transmission of data from POC analyzers to
laboratory and hospital information systems-aids
compliance with regulatory standards.
With a bidirectional interface, information is sent to
meters so only certified operators can perform testing.
The system tracks the dates of the operator's original
certification and expiration, last good QC and last
patient test. Some analyzers allow messages to be sent
to operators to warn them when they are getting close to
expiration and remind them to perform QC.
More > |
A New Approach to QC
How Can Risk Management
Help Labs?
Clinical
Laboratory News, November 2011: Volume 37, Number 11, By
Bill Malone
When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) finalized the Clinical Laboratory Improvement
Amendments regulations in 2003, many in the lab
community expressed dissatisfaction with what was
perceived as ambiguous and unscientific guidance on how
to conduct quality control (QC). While the regulations
set basic requirements for testing external QC
materials, most laboratories found they needed to go
above and beyond these standards to avoid quality
problems.
Now the
Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)
has published a long-awaited guideline that aims to fill
this gap, enabling labs to customize QC to match both
changing technology and the uniqueness of each lab.
However, in what form CMS and other accrediting
organizations will adopt or endorse it remains to be
seen.
Published in October, the new guideline, EP-23,
Laboratory Quality Control Based on Risk Management,
translates the time-honored concept of risk management
used in manufacturing, defense, aerospace, and other
industries into the language of the clinical lab.
More
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in our Article Archives... |
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Last updated: 01/25/2012
Questions or corrections: editor@pointofcare.net.© 2011 Medical Automation Systems,
Inc.
Legal Notice. This web site is made possible in
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