DUHS Point of Care Testing Program

What is Point of Care?

​Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) refers to that analytical patient testing activities provided within the institution, but performed outside the physical facilities of the clinical laboratories. The central criterion of POCT is that it does not require permanent dedicated space. (Examples include: bedside whole blood glucose testing and urine dipsticks.)

Test results derived from POCT performed at the patient's bedside and/or in the clinic setting, may be used for screening, diagnosis of disease and/or adjustment of therapy, depending on the physician's evaluation and decision concerning the patient's medical condition.

Goals:

• To assure the safety of the patients
• Maintain the regulatory compliance of all laboratory test performed at the patient’s bedside to meet JCAHO and other regulatory agencies.
• Monitor all aspects of testing to insure nursing staff perform testing accurately with products proven to perform correctly.
• Assist nursing, with any issues, questions or concerns with all aspects of POCT.

Mission Statement:

The Mission of the DUHS Point-of-Care Testing Service is to provide caregivers throughout the Duke University Health System with state-of-the-art, high quality point-of-care laboratory testing that safely accelerates establishment of a working diagnosis, an adjustment in treatment or patient disposition in a cost-effective manner.

For our DUHS Staff and Physcians, our POCT policies, SOPs and documents can be found at our POCT Program Internal Resource Page