title: Current and future use of point-of-care tests in primary care: an international survey in Australia, Belgium, The Netherlands, the UK and the USA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite the growing number of point-of-care (POC) tests available, little research has assessed primary care clinician need for such tests. We therefore aimed to determine which POC tests they actually use or would like to use (if not currently available in their practice).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary care in Australia, Belgium (Flanders region only), the Netherlands, the UK and the USA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary care doctors (general practitioners, family physicians).
  
  
  METHODS
  We asked respondents to (1) identify conditions for which a POC test could help inform diagnosis, (2) from a list of tests provided: evaluate which POC tests they currently use (and how frequently) and (3) determine which tests (from that same list) they would like to use in the future (and how frequently).
  
  
  RESULTS
  2770 primary care clinicians across five countries responded. Respondents in all countries wanted POC tests to help them diagnose acute conditions (infections, acute cardiac disease, pulmonary embolism/deep vein thrombosis), and some chronic conditions (diabetes, anaemia). Based on the list of POC tests provided, the most common tests currently used were: urine pregnancy, urine leucocytes or nitrite and blood glucose. The most commonly reported tests respondents expressed a wish to use in the future were: D-dimer, troponin and chlamydia. The UK and the USA reported a higher actual and desired use for POC tests than Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands. Our limited data suggest (but do not confirm) representativeness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Primary care clinicians in all five countries expressed a desire for POC tests to help them diagnose a range of acute and chronic conditions. Rates of current reported use and desired future use were generally high for a small selection of POC tests, but varied across countries. Future research is warranted to explore how specific POC tests might improve primary care.
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Howick
authors.affiliation: Deptartment of Family Medicine, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jochen W L
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Cals
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plüddemann
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Heneghan
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marjolein Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Deptartment of Family Medicine, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands Academic Center for General Practice, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Buntinx
authors.affiliation: Family Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hickner
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
authors.forename: Wilson
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pace
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Badrick
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van den Bruel
authors.affiliation: Discipline of General Practice, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laurence
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henk C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: van Weert
authors.affiliation: Academic Center for General Practice, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Evie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Severen
authors.affiliation: Discipline of General Practice, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parrella
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001530:Belgium; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States
keywords: Chemical Pathology; Epidemiology; General Medicine (see Internal Medicine)
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