August 5, 2002 - At this year's AACC Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo, Diana DeHoyos of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, Texas received the 2002 POCT Coordinator of the Year Award.  Diana is part of a two-person POCC team that manages over 2000 users in the POCT program at the UTMB, a major academic health center providing health care for over 200 Texas counties by operating 98 health care sites. 

UTMB is comprised of 6 hospitals, 45 campus based clinics, and 47 community based clinics that are located from approximately 1 to over 200 miles from the main hospital in Galveston. The POCT program at UTMB deals with glucose meters, coagulation instruments, and numerous manual POC tests that account for over 1 million tests per year.

The distances involved and size of the program mandated a unique way of communicating (a website) with the various locations. Diana was responsible for developing the website (www2.utmb.edu/poc) dedicated to UTMB’s POCT program. The web site allows easy access of all required and up to date POCT information, including MSDSs, test procedures, QC forms, new test implementation, etc. The site also contains some unique features, such as online competency tests for various POC tests and online proficiency testing of PPMP using digital images.

Diana also sets up and coordinates training for Test Site Managers (nursing personnel who have responsibility for a sites regulatory compliance) and POCT users, writes procedures, maintains the website and is newsletter co-editor for the Texas GulfCoast POCC group, and works on the bench every fourth weekend.

Diana graduated from UTMB’s Clinical Laboratory Scientist program and has been involved in UTMB’s POCT program since early 1999. She is an active member of the hospital’s POCT Continuous Process Improvement Team, involved in training POCT users, performs random monthly site audits, uses the internet to monitor hospital/clinic regulatory compliance, and involved in teaching Family Medicine residents and Medical Technology students.

Over the last year Diana was part of a presentation titled "Point of Care Testing Management by using the Internet" at the 2001 CLMA national meeting. She recently gave a presentation as part of the January 2002 AACC’s POCT audio conference: "Managing Your Point-of-Care Testing Program for Success" on the use of the internet, and presented at the inaugural Point of Care Leadership Seminar sponsored by Bayer Diagnostics.

She is lead author of a manuscript titled "Development of a Website for a Decentralized Point of Care Testing Program" published in the Journal of Near-Patient Testing & Technology, co-authored a column on PPMP in the "Asked and Answered" section of the same journal, co-author on two abstracts (one each at the 2001 and 2002 AACC Annual meeting), and authored a column in "At the Bedside" in Advance for Administrators (Sept 2001) on how to develop a POCT website.

Letters acknowledging her professional behavior and willingness to collaborate came from various levels of management in Laboratory Medicine, Quality Management, Nursing, physicians, clinic administrators, and industry. Overall she has had a positive impact not only on UTMB’s program but POCT in general.