In light of current economic conditions, budget restraints, travel and volunteerism, a number of POC groups throughout the country have struggled to maintain semi-annual or quarterly meetings.

On April 29, 2009, the Virginia POCCs decided to do something about that and held the first online meeting via WebEx! The response and attendance to their CAP focused event was overwhelming and flawless. Now other POC group leaders across the country are anxious to get started with meetings on the web to supplement their face-to-face meetings.

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Pieces of the POCT puzzle
Point-of-care testing: changing the way patient care is delivered
By Kristin N. Hale, BS, BA, and Gerald J. Kost, MD, PhD, MS, FACB, Medical Laboratory Observer, June 2009

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is defined as testing at or near the site of patient care. The goal of POCT is to facilitate rapid diagnosis and faster treatment decisions to improve patient care and reduce morbidity and mortality.1 POCT impacts every branch of the healthcare system, including hospitals, outpatients, and disaster and emergency situations. The ability of POCT to be utilized in all these respective locations has demonstrated the significant potential POCT has to positively impact and change the way healthcare is delivered to the patient population — ultimately, with the goal of improving patient care — wherever that may be. More >

Positive Patient Outcomes

The Joint Commission has implemented key changes in 2009 that enhance focus on quality and patient safety.

By Margaret Peck, MS, MT (ASCP) Advance for Admin of the Lab: May 2009

Safe, quality patient care is highly dependent on the excellence of laboratory services, yet laboratories quite often rely on external processes and staff that impact its ability to provide timely, quality results. The landmark 1999 Institute of Medicine report To Err is Human stated that 70 percent of laboratory errors occur in the pre- and post-analytical phases of laboratory testing. Therefore, the interface between the clinical laboratory and other care providers can be a crucial part of the entire scope of the provision of lab services. More >

Aiming for Lab-like Accuracy

at the Point of Care
CAP Today, April 2009, Feature Story, By Brendan Dabkowski

American frontiersman and gunslinger Wyatt Earp is credited with the gem “fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.” Though physicians at the point of care are unlikely to find themselves in an Old West-style gunfight, most, like Earp, would choose accuracy over speed. And that means makers of bedside glucose testing systems must be ever vigilant in meeting customers’ requests for improved accuracy.

“The primary need for clinicians using POC glucose monitors is that they give accurate results—even in the presence of interfering substances like maltose, abnormal hematocrit, ascorbate, etc.—so that correct treatment decisions can be made,” says Ron Newby, Nova Biomedical’s director of marketing. Also crucial: obtaining the right glucose read the first time, at the point of care, to eliminate the “time-wasting need for repeat measurements,” he says. Analyzers must deliver results quickly, but without sacrificing accuracy. Hospitals now face the “need to provide even higher levels of accuracy in handheld devices, in effect delivering lab-like accuracy at the bedside,” says Mary Catherine Coyle, MS, MT(ASCP), director of product marketing in the professional diagnostics division of Roche Diagnostics. More >

Win-Win POCT

Scott Warner, MLT(ASCP), ADVANCE for Administrators of the Laboratory
Vol. 18 • Issue 3 • Page 10 At the Bedside

Imagine 10 employees in your small hospital laboratory. Suddenly, there are 30 more performing tests on all shifts, and as a manager you aren't sure if they are fully trained or understand quality control (QC) concepts. This can happen with point-of-care testing (POCT).

With diabetes being the sixth leading cause of death1and accounting for 22 percent of hospital charges,2your hospital's POCT program is a crucial part of managing inpatient diabetic care. Your partnership with nursing is the key to success, whether starting from scratch or upgrading an existing program. More

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UPCOMING EVENTS!

Division Mixer and Awards Ceremony Click here

POCC Forum A look at the role

of POCT in promoting a culture of patient safety in the hospital setting.

Click here to Register

Click here to RSVP for...

A Special Dinner Buffet
and Social Event for POCCs

Program Information I Hotel Information

POC Specialist Certificate Program

Recently, a need to ensure adequate training and preparation for these providers has emerged, leading the AACC Critical and Point-of-Care Testing (CPOCT) Division to develop a comprehensive online program to prepare POC coordinators and specialists for their critical role in promoting standardized best practices in near patient testing. Read more >

POC LINKS

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