What is Point-of-Care Testing?
Medical testing carried out at or close to the point of care is referred to as point-of-care testing, or POC testing. In this context, POC refers to the location of the patient. Waiting a while for findings implies sending all samples and specimens to be processed at medical labs. This may result in patients receiving care without their care team's full knowledge of their needs or in time being squandered in crucial situations. Instead, POC testing makes it much simpler to get data quickly and accurately. Medical professionals can more readily make educated decisions regarding a patient's treatment and care now that these results are available.
POC Testing vs Laboratory Testing: Pros and Cons
The speedier turnaround time for results is the key benefit of point-of-care testing. Results are typically also provided in a style that is simpler to understand, however this is not always the case, and results may still need to be safely interpreted by a healthcare expert. Anyone without proper laboratory training can also carry out POC testing. Nurses, physicians, paramedics, and patient testing are all included in this. Near-patient testing can take many different forms, such as urinalysis, blood glucose monitoring, malaria antigen testing, pregnancy tests, and many more.
However, POC testing can have disadvantages. Studies have shown, for instance, that errors may occur more frequently with POC testing than with laboratory testing depending on the technology utilized in the device. This could happen because the POC testing environment is typically less regulated than laboratory circumstances and the results could be more susceptible to outside intervention than laboratory processes, which could result in inaccurate results.