DELIA GEARY, medical laboratories transition project manager, UKAS, provides an insight into the importance of accreditation for point of care (POC) testing to ensure quality control.
Point of care testing is now ubiquitous in all healthcare environments and at every stage, from the commencement of emergency care with paramedics to specialist treatment in acute and critical care units. In the wider community, many General Practitioners offer some form of POC Testing via their clinics or surgeries. Accreditation of POC testing providers, whether publically or privately owned, presents a wide range of challenges, particularly for multi-site organisations operating the hub and spoke model, (see panel).
Accreditation of point of care testing services
The introduction of ISO 22870:2006 (Point of Care Testing – particular requirements for quality and competence), applied in conjunction with ISO 15189:2012 (Medical Laboratories – particular requirements for quality and competence), provides a platform for using international standards in the accreditation of organisations which provide POC testing.
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