CSCC Publishes Quality Assurance Recommendations for Hospital and Community POCT Programmes
The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists POCT Interest Group developed practical guidance covering device selection, initial and ongoing verification, QC lot management, and operator competency for point-of-care testing in both hospital and outpatient settings. The framework is designed to standardise quality assurance practices where testing is performed by non-laboratory clinical staff.
The original study
Quality assurance practices for point of care testing programs: Recommendations by the Canadian society of clinical chemists point of care testing interest group.
- Authors
- Venner AA, Beach LA, Shea JL, Knauer MJ, Huang Y, Fung AWS, et al.
- Journal
- Clinical biochemistry
- Type
- Journal Article, Review
- PMID
- 33264650
Original abstract
Point of Care Testing (POCT) refers to clinical laboratory testing performed outside the central laboratory, nearer to the patient and sometimes at the patient bedside. The testing is usually performed by clinical staff, such as physicians or nurses, who are not laboratory trained. This document was developed by the POCT Interest group of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC) as practical guidance for quality assurance practices related to POCT performed in hospital and outside hospital environments. The aspects of quality assurance addressed in this document include: (1) device selection, (2) initial device verification, (3) ongoing device verification, (4) ongoing quality assurance including reagent and quality control (QC) lot changes, and (5) quality management including operator and document management.