Point-of-care testing (PoCT) in the Standards

Point-of-care testing (PoCT) in the Standards

The Point-of-care testing (updated 6th edition) standard is optional for practices and aims to:

• improve the quality and safety of point-of-care testing (PoCT) performed by health services
• help services identify and address any gaps they have in their systems and processes.

Benefits of PoCT

The potential benefits of PoCT in general practice are:

• the healthcare practitioner can make immediate and informed decisions about a patient’s care, together with the patient, which may result in improved clinical management
• greater patient compliance with pathology requests, especially from at-risk patients
• greater convenience and satisfaction for patients because of the speed of diagnosis, management and treatment decisions
• more equitable access to pathology, regardless of where patients live
• more opportunities for patients to engage with the practice team^{(2, 3)}.