Planning education for best practices in point-of-care testing

The increasing availability and use of POCT are influenced by many factors, including the industry trend toward patient-centered care and decentralization of health care; the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases, which includes the current use of rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing; the increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension; and advances in in-vitro medical diagnostics. The use of POCT can increase the efficiency of services and improve patient outcomes. However, the variability of the testing environment and conditions, as well as the competency of the staff performing the tests, can have a significant impact on the quality and accuracy of POCT results. Most personnel performing POCT are not trained laboratory staff and may not be as familiar with the processes associated with testing, such as patient preparation, specimen collection, management of equipment and supplies, calibration and maintenance of equipment, the performance of the test, quality control, interpretation of results, and reporting/documentation of results related to the particular patient. Therefore, personnel performing POCT must have the appropriate training and experience to ensure that test results are accurate and reliable. This review outlines the specific personnel training requirements based on international standards that must be considered to ensure the quality of test results and describe the competency criteria required for POCT compliance.