title: Point of care testing: testing the system?
abstract: Point of care testing is changing for the better the way we practice medicine. Whether it is an anesthesiologist doing a blood gas in the operating room, a nurse measuring serum glucose in the home or on the unit, or an intensive care nurse testing by the bedside before calling an intensivist, newer instrumentation provides for a limited number of quality tests to instantly add value to the critical decision-making process of modern staff. This movement is a true paradigm shift that will reduce unnecessary testing, provide timely measurement of critical values and avoid unnecessary and catastrophic mistakes.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Bayne
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D013597:Systems Analysis