1. This contrasts with the historical pattern in which testing was wholly or mostly confined to the medical laboratory, which entailed sending off specimens away
from the point of care and then waiting hours or days to learn the results, during which time care must continue without the desired information.
2. The driving notion behind POCT is to bring the test conveniently and immediately to the patient. This increases the likelihood that the patient, physician, and
care team will receive the results quicker, which allows for immediate clinical management decisions to be made. POCT includes: blood glucose testing, blood gas
and electrolytes analysis, rapid coagulation testing (PT/INR, Alere, Microvisk Ltd), rapid cardiac markers diagnostics (TRIAGE, Alere), drugs of abuse screening,
urine strips testing, pregnancy testing, fecal occult blood analysis, food pathogens screening, hemoglobin diagnostics (HemoCue), infectious disease testing and
cholesterol screening.
3. POCT is often accomplished through the use of transportable, portable, and handheld instruments (e.g., blood glucose meter, nerve conduction study device)
and test kits (e.g., CRP, HBA1C, Homocystein, HIV salivary assay, etc.). Small bench analyzers or fixed equipment can also be used when a handheld device is
not availablethe goal is to collect the specime and obtain the results in a very short period of time at or near the location of the patient so that the treatment plan
can be adjusted as necessary before the patient leaves.
4. Cheaper, faster, and smarter POCT devices have increased the use of POCT approaches by making it cost-effective for many diseases, such as diabetes,
carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and acute coronary syndrome.
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