Point Of Care Testing Essay

What is point-of-care testing :

The healthcare industry is in the midst of a transformative change. It is undergoing reform through initiatives that focus on improving patient outcomes, tying provider reimbursement to quality metrics (rather than traditional fee for services), adopting electronic patient records, and developing accountable care organizations. One of the major enablers of these changes is the proliferation of point-of-care (POC) technologies that offer the promise of improving outcomes and reducing costs through increased access to and use of diagnostic and monitoring solutions.

Point-of-care testing is medical diagnostic testing at or near the point of care—that is, at the time and place of patient care. This contrasts with the historical pattern in which testing was wholly or mostly confined to the medical laboratory,

Non-invasive testing is transforming the clinical world by providing a means of early detection and monitoring of disease through the development of innovative and efficient healthcare delivery systems, and enabling a closed-loop system where rapid detection directly connects with a treatment regimen.

Point-of-care testing allows patient diagnoses in the physician’s office, an ambulance, the home, the field, or in the hospital. The results of care are timely, and allow rapid treatment to the patient. Empowering clinicians to make decisions at the “point-of-care” has the potential to significantly impact health care delivery and to address the challenges of health disparities. The success of a potential shift from curative medicine, to predictive, personalized, and preemptive medicine could rely on the development of portable diagnostic and monitoring devices for point-of-care