The National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry has developed a Laboratory Medicine Practice Guideline for point-of-care testing (POCT). This POCT guideline systematically reviews the scientific literature linking POCT to patient outcome and makes recommendations for the optimal use of POCT in patient care.  This...

This is the second in a series of articles. The first essay, “Quality control in theory and practice – a gap analysis”, published here in January 2006 raised the question: Has “the system” given front-line laboratory workers the knowledge and tools they need to make quality control decisions wisely – or is there a...

Millions of times every day, in a myriad of distinctive laboratories around this globe, front-line workers make the final decision on the quality of results they report. If they decide the quality is “OK”, patient results are released to impact clinical decisions, and proficiency values reflect the overall ability...

There is widespread confusion concerning the quantities to be used in the description of the oxygen-transport properties of human blood [1]. It all began in 1980 with the introduction of a changed (and wrong) definition of oxygen saturation in a paper on a new instrument for multicomponent analysis (MCA) of...

The collection of arterial specimens with glass syringes and immediate storage in iced water was the accepted industry standard for many years. Practice has changed over the past several years to blood gas sample collection in plastic syringes, likely due to the cost, safety and convenience of plastic. This change ...

The collection of arterial specimens with glass syringes and immediate storage in iced water was the accepted industry standard for many years. Practice has changed over the past several years to blood gas sample collection in plastic syringes, likely due to the cost, safety and convenience of plastic. This change ...

Five years of data on percutaneous injuries (PIs) from the EPINet multi-hospital sharps injury database at the University of Virginia were analyzed to understand exposure risks faced by personnel in intensive care/critical care settings. Of 687 PIs in intensive care units (ICUs), nurses had the highest proportion of...

Test results are commonly interpreted against population-based reference (normal) intervals, which should be provided on every laboratory report, irrespective of whether the test has been done as point-of-care testing or in a clinical laboratory. Reference intervals are difficult to generate properly if international ...

Is it a good idea to rely on vendors to help develop training materials for point-of-care testing staff? According to the lab group responsible for point-of-care (POC) testing at the Malmö University Hospital in Sweden, vendor cooperation can help you achieve a better result, faster. However, the better prepared you ...

What does it take to ensure an effective competency program? Acutecaretesting.org asked three point-of-care coordinators (POCC) with solid programs what makes their competencies work. Their input resulted in a list of 12 key recommendations.