Point-of-care testing (POCT) enables health care personnel to perform clinical laboratory testing near the patient. Tests in a POC format can now be found for many medical disciplines including endocrinology/diabetes, cardiology, nephrology, critical care, fertility, hematology/coagulation, infectious disease and microbiology, and general health screening. Thus, a series of clinical applications are possible that can shorten the time for clinical decision-making about additional testing or therapy, as delays are no longer caused by preparation of clinical samples, transport, and central laboratory analysis.
The primary advantage of POCT is the convenience of performing the test close to the patient and the speed at which test results can be obtained, compared to sending a sample to a laboratory and waiting for results to be returned. The underlying technology and the range of test parameters available are evolving rapidly.
