Advantages of POCT, continued

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The page below is a sample from the LabCE course Point-of-Care Testing (POCT): The Applications, Advantages, and Challenges. Access the complete course and earn ASCLS P.A.C.E.-approved continuing education credits by subscribing online.

Learn more about Point-of-Care Testing (POCT): The Applications, Advantages, and Challenges (online CE course)
Advantages of POCT, continued

  • Specimen stability and ease of handling:
    • Unprocessed samples, such as whole blood, that do not require centrifugation or processing.
    • Reduced potential for sample deterioration since most POCT is initiated and performed rapidly once the sample is obtained. Potential changes may occur to samples sent to the central laboratory due to analyte instability, environmental exposure, cellular metabolism, and temperature variation.
    • Sample volume influences patient convenience with less blood loss and anemia for patients requiring frequent testing and neonatal and pediatric benefits with reduced specimen volume.
  • Lean process: Leaner because fewer steps are necessary to produce the result, including the elimination of processing and aliquoting, the need to transport the specimen to the core laboratory, and communicating results back to the clinical staff.
  • Portable devices:
    • Diminished space requirements for operation and storage.
    • a comprehensive menu of analytes.
    • Allows testing to be performed in a variety of locations.
    • Flexibility to meet the diversity of medical needs.
  • Improved patient outcomes: The immediate availability of test results can be linked to patient management to facilitate the movement of individual patients through the system faster or to allow for handling more patients in a diminished time frame.