POCT-Related Sessions at the 2013 AACC Annual meeting

Lessons From America's Safest Hospitals
More than 180,000 people die every year from hospital errors. Here's what the top medical centers are doing to improve your odds

by Beth Howard, AARP The Magazine, April/May issue

About 400,000 drug-related injuries occur each year in hospitals, according to an Institute of Medicine study. To help solve the problem, many of the safest hospitals have embraced the use of a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system, which forces doctors to enter prescriptions into the computer electronically. "It basically eliminates transcription errors," says Anthony J. Ardire, M.D., senior vice president for quality and patient safety at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The system also has built-in safety alerts — for example, it won't allow doctors to prescribe more medicine than is generally recommended. Since implementing the system and introducing bar coding, in which a patient's bracelet is scanned to ensure the right patient is getting the right medication at the right dose, Lehigh Valley's medication-error rate has been reduced from 2 in 100,000 doses to 2 in 1 million doses.

AARP The Magazine has teamed up with The Leapfrog Group, which rates hospitals on safety and resource use, to showcase what some of the most innovative hospitals are doing to prevent errors. For example, the safest hospitals in America use surgical checklists, have fully integrated electronic medical records, and place a premium on transparency.

Virginia Mason and Kaiser Permanente, which provide both outpatient doctor visits and in-hospital care, have integrated their CPOE systems with electronic medical record keeping, so new drug orders can be checked against the patient's existing medication record for possible interactions and allergies. When a patient leaves the hospital, the system updates his or her medication list.

Virginia Mason also takes the unusual step of tracking medications prescribed outside the hospital — staff can learn if a patient has actually filled a prescription. That could change the treatment if the hospital staff notices that a patient admitted with high blood pressure, for instance, hasn't been filling prescriptions. More >>

11th Annual CPOCT Forum

The Role of Point-of-Care testing in a Disaster (Plan):

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Make plans to attend this program on Thursday, August 1st at the George Brown Convention Center during the AACC Meeting and sponsored by the AACC Critical and Point-of-Care Testing Division

• 7:30 - 8:00 a.m. Hot buffet breakfast  I  8:00 - 10:00 a.m. Presentation

“The Role of Point-of-Care Testing in a Disaster (Plan)” features a Medical Technologist Health Services Officer, who is involved in an array of missions related to disaster and emergency response and a panel of POCCs. The forum will cover various aspects of a disaster planning including:

• An example of a Community based cooperative plan
• A hospital based plan
• A discussion of a guidance document under development in the field.

Join the CPOCT division for a hot breakfast and scientific presentation and hear keynote speaker Daniel Hesselgesser, along with our expert panel of POCCs, Diane Davis; Kerstin Halverson and Peggy Mann. The $20.00 also includes entry to Thursday’s Expo. Click here for more details and to register.

Between the ever-growing list of pros and cons for Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) versus traditional lab testing and the potential impact of POCT in hospital facilities in regards to treatment, it can be difficult to keep up. Here, Advance for Administrators for the Laboratory have put together a review from some recent articles focused on POCT, ranging from accuracy and reliability of testing to assessments and record-keeping.

A Pathologist’s Take on POCT
By Richard A. McPherson, MD, MS

Point-of-care testing (POCT) devices have largely been designed to provide tests for critically ill inpatients on intravenous therapy who need close monitoring of their electrolyte and fluid balance. The medical necessity for POCT in elderly patients being seen in their own homes or assisted living facilities takes on a different form, as the testing technologies are often used in combination with history and physical examination to determine whether patients require higher level care or can remain in their present locations. Click here for more

Evolving World of POCT
By Maureen R. Bush, MLS(ASCP)CM, and Sheldon Campbell, MD, PhD, FCAP

Although point-of-care testing (POCT) has its critics when its accuracy is compared to “traditional” laboratory testing, its value in offering expedient results in both conventional and unconventional settings often outweighs the argument. What’s more, new applications for POCT continue to be explored, which makes this an area to stay abreast of from technology, personnel and regulatory standpoints. Click here for more

A Need for Speed
By Valerie Neff Newitt

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is rooted in an urgent need for speed, particularly where infectious diseases and public health intersect. Sheldon Campbell, MD, PhD, FCAP, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, says a POCT “explosion” has had a radical effect in rapid identification and treatment of people with HIV.   Click here for more

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Last updated: 06/13/2013 Questions or corrections: editor@pointofcare.net. © 2013  BACK TO TOP