Medical, economic, and regulatory factors affecting point-of-care testing. A report of the conference on factors affecting point-of-care testing, Philadelphia, PA 6-7 May 1994.
On 6-7 May 1994, the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry sponsored a conference on point-of-care testing (POCT) in Philadelphia, PA. Several other organizations including the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Clinical Laboratory Management Association, the National Laboratory Training Network Eastern Area Resource Office, and Thomas Jefferson University co-sponsored the program, which brought together approximately 225 healthcare professionals involved in the decision making processes of implementing and overseeing POCT. These individuals included clinical chemists, medical technologists, clinicians, pathologists, nurse managers, respiratory therapists, laboratory and hospital administrators, and manufacturers of point-of-care devices. The conference focused primarily on the critical care setting, but some attention was given to the more general patient setting. The panelists assessed POCT from four perspectives: (1) medical aspects, (2) delivery options for achieving rapid turn-around time, (3) the economics of the different delivery options, and (4) legislative, regulatory, and legal issues. At the completion of the meeting, areas of agreement and disagreement were summarized. In addition, areas requiring further research and standardization were delineated. The impact of the conference on laboratory practices was evaluated by means of a questionnaire sent to hospital-based healthcare personnel approximately 6 months after the meeting.
Seamonds
B
B
Department of Laboratory Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence