NEAR-PATIENT DIAGNOSTICS
Models of point-of-care diagnostics provision: an overview of the future
Currently, there is a move in healthcare that would see a range of diagnostic services relocated from hospitals into the urban environment of town and city centres, to facilitate easier patient access. Here, Tony Cambridge focuses on a selection of models proposed for the delivery of in vitro diagnostic testing outside the traditional laboratory and in the community.
Healthcare workers are acutely aware of the challenge ahead. Overrun hospitals, a lack of community options for diagnostic testing, and an under- resourced, under-skilled workforce to drive change. Things are changing, however. With new models of care being discussed and implemented, providing better access to patient diagnostics in more accessible settings, we can be assured that healthcare system executives are listening, especially to well-presented business cases and redesigned pathways that incorporate rapid testing solutions.
Community health It is not just emergency departments that are overwhelmed, the whole healthcare system is. Many are laying blame at the services offered in the community, especially general practitioners. But this is simply untrue, and we need to understand and adjust for the barriers they themselves face in providing optimised care. If you observe the vitriol across social media you will see much frustration and blame laying which must stop. For instance, we must appreciate that these healthcare providers are bound by a number of directives including national guidance on prescribing as well as accessing secondary care for referrals. This narrows the options for a number of conditions where simple diagnostics on
hand could provide valuable support for the medical decisions to be made. One approach that might improve the patient and clinician experience is to offer diagnostics more widely in the community with appropriate quality and governance. A number of models are being proposed
which in turn aim to reduce the pressure on secondary care services. Imagine a network of healthcare delivery services accessing central diagnostic hubs to speed up investigations needed to make care decisions. It is happening, slowly, but it is happening!
PixCell Medical’s HemoScreen complete blood count analyser for use at the point of care.
WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM SEPTEMBER 2022 47
Jakednb CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
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