Don’t implement point of care testing (POCT) without assessing whether it meets clinical needs, has appropriate resources, provides benefits to patient care beyond central laboratory testing, and is supported under an appropriate quality management system.

POCT requires a clinical benefit that justifies the costs and a comprehensive quality oversight that meets accreditation standards and mitigates patient risks. POCT is warranted when its absence has negative impact(s) on patient care (e.g. diagnosis delay, inappropriate patient management) and when the need cannot be appropriately met by central laboratory testing. Additional supporting factors include: inaccessibility to central laboratory testing, societal barriers, patient compliance and quality of life, small sample volume, short sample stability. Appropriate implementation requires appropriate personnel, information systems, instrumentation, supplies, and quality measures. A quality management system (QMS) is essential to optimize the total testing process and mitigate errors, by providing comprehensive approaches to apply standards, policies and procedures.

Sources:

Accreditation Canada Diagnostics. Medical Laboratory Accreditation Requirements. Version 9. [Internet] 2023 [cited Oct 2025].

Florkowski C, et al. Point-of-care testing (POCT) and evidence-based laboratory medicine (EBLM) – does it leverage any advantage in clinical decision making? Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci. 2017;54(7-8):471-494. PMID: 29169287.

Price CP, et al. Improving the quality of point-of-care testing. Fam Pract. 2018;35(4):358-364. PMID: 29253125.

Venner AA, et al. Quality assurance practices for point of care testing programs: Recommendations by the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists point of care testing interest group. Clin Biochem. 2021;88:11-17. PMID: 33264650.