Abstract
Background
The Laboratory modernisation process in Ireland will include point of care testing (POCT) as one of its central tenets. However, a previous baseline survey showed that POCT was under-resourced particularly with respect to information technology (IT) and staffing.
Aims
An audit was undertaken to see if POCT services had improved since the publication of National Guidelines and if such services were ready for the major changes in laboratory medicine as envisaged by the Health Service Executive.
Methods
The 15 recommendations of the 2007 Guidelines were used as a template for a questionnaire, which was distributed by the Irish External Quality Assessment Scheme.
Results
Thirty-nine of a possible 45 acute hospitals replied. Only a quarter of respondent hospitals had POCT committees, however, allocation of staff to POCT had doubled since the first baseline survey. Poor IT infrastructure, the use of unapproved devices, and low levels of adverse incident reporting were still major issues.
Conclusions
Point of care testing remains under-resourced, despite the roll out of such devices throughout the health service including primary care. The present high standards of laboratory medicine may not be maintained if the quality and cost-effectiveness of POCT is not controlled. Adherence to national Guidelines and adequate resourcing is essential to ensure patient safety.
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References
Report for HSE by Teamwork Management Services Limited (2007) Implementing a new system of service delivery for Laboratory Medicine Services
Point of Care Testing Consultative Group (2007) Guidelines for Safe and effective management and use of Point of Care Testing ISBN 978 1 905487 17 2 (approved by AMLS, ACBI, IMB, RCPI)
Working Group on Point of Care Testing in Primary and Community Care (2009) (approved by HSE, Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, AMLS, ACBI, IMB, RCPI Faculty of Pathology). Guidelines for Safe and effective management and use of point of care testing in Primary and Community care
O’Kelly RA, Brady JJ, Byrne E et al (2011) A survey of point of care testing in Irish hospitals: room for improvement. Ir J Med Sc 180:237–240
O’Kane MJ, McManus P, McGowan N et al (2011) Quality error rates in point-of-care testing. Clin Chem 57:1267–1271
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O’Kelly, R.A., Byrne, E., Mulligan, C. et al. Is point of care testing in Irish hospitals ready for the laboratory modernisation process? An audit against the current national Irish guidelines. Ir J Med Sci 182, 663–668 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-013-0949-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-013-0949-3