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GROUPS
& MTGS
MEETINGS
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Lessons from the
POCT Front
How
Can Labs Improve Implementation, Tackle Compliance
Challenges?
By Genna
Rollins, March 2010 Clinical Laboratory News
For at least a decade, point-of-care testing (POCT) has
been the darling of the medical diagnostics industry,
with sustained growth in testing volume and continual
technological breakthroughs.
 The
trend shows no sign of abating, as drivers such as the
need for hospitals and clinics to better manage capacity
and improve care, coupled with further innovations, are
making POCT ever more attractive. Yet hospitals and
health systems continue to experience challenges in
implementing and sustaining POCT programs, at times
leaving both laboratorians and clinicians frustrated and
wary about the process.
The reasons for
less-than-satisfactory outcomes are as varied as the
programs themselves, but experts cite many factors that
can make or break a POCT application.
More > |
What’s New in
Point-of-Care
Glucose Analyzers
By Brendan
Dabkowski, CAP Today, February 2010, Feature Story
Sometimes, turning your attention away from the rest of
the proverbial forest to care for a specific tree can
prove positive. So long as you pick the right tree. For
makers of bedside glucose testing systems, the right
tree is accuracy. And growing it can yield such benefits
as fewer errors, reduced costs, and greater patient
safety.
“The most significant trend within the marketplace has
been for hospitals to demand improved accuracy of
bedside glucose monitors as hospitals adopt protocols
for better glycemic management of patients,” says Rick
Rollins, marketing specialist, Nova Biomedical. Rollins
adds that the FDA, American Association of Clinical
Endocrinologists, and Society of Critical Care Medicine
are calling for enhanced glucose meter accuracy. And as
point-of-care glucose testing expands, says Peter
Karkantis, general manager of hospital and government,
Abbott Diabetes Care, “health care institutions must
have assurance that their point-of-care glucose
monitoring system provider can deliver consistent
accuracy across thousands of glucose analyzers and
millions of test strips.”
More >
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AACC/CPOCT POC
Specialist Certificate Program
Glycemic
Control
LabTestsOnline.org
NACB Guidelines |
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Eye the Basics,
Not Baubles,for POCT
CAP Today,
January 2010, Feature Story, by Anne Ford
The major gift-giving holidays may be over, but the
hankering for new gadgets continues. Just ask
point-of-care coordinators, some of whom continue to
check their metaphorical stockings for new tests as they
plead, “I’ve been a very good coordinator this year. How
about, say, a POC molecular assay for respiratory
infection?”
But focusing on the new—new assays, new platforms, new
bells and whistles—can be detrimental to achieving
excellence in your POC program, some experts say.
“There’s a lot of tantalizing technology out there that
looks really fun but that’s not practical or not
indicated,” says Cynthia Foss Bowman, MD, medical
director of clinical laboratories and director of POC
testing at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York.
“From my perspective, we should be making the
bread-and-butter POC testing better. I don’t want to
inhibit technical development, but I would hate to see a
barrage of new tests come out without attending to the
issues that we’ve got right now.”
For example? Not being aware of the limitations of each
type of POC test performed in your institution.
Reinventing the wheel instead of taking advantage of
vendor resources. Letting clinicians dictate which tests
are performed at the point of care.
Read more > |
It's Time for 2010 POCC of the Year Award Nominations!
 The
POC Coordinator of the Year Award is given annually to
recognize outstanding achievements in the POCT field by
persons who are primarily responsible for a given
institution’s POCT
program.
The award is not limited to persons or programs within
the United States. Selection is made by the Awards
Committee of the AACC CPOCT Division and is based on the
extent of the nominee’s responsibilities and
accomplishments, particularly the impact this person has
made in improving the quality of the POCT program at
their facility.
Click here to visit the AACC CPOCT Award site
for
instructions and
to
send completed forms and supporting documentation as one
packet to the AACC CPOCT Division by e-mail to
education@aacc.org.
The completed form must
be received by March 15 to be considered for the current
year award.
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