Advances in Point-of-Care Connectivity Enable Automated Information Management, Reducing Errors and Saving Critical Time

摘要

A decade ago, many hospitals managed data in department-specific silos, disconnected from other systems. Obtaining laboratory test results typically required multiple steps across various departments and information systems. Completing this process, with its multiple manual data entry steps, was time-consuming and fraught with the potential for medical errors.Since the advent of the POCT1-A standard 10 years ago, data connectivity has taken a dramatic turn for the better in most hospitals. Point-of-Care Testing (POCT), or near-patient testing, can now be seamlessly linked into existing data management systems without the expense of implementing a different communications system for each device. The close proximity of instruments to patients reduces turn-around time and provides results in minutes. These results, in turn, can be dispersed from a POC instrument throughout the hospital information system (HIS). The outcome has been a substantial improvement in information management, leading to enhanced patient care.