Selected topics in point-of-care testing. Urinalysis, pregnancy testing, microbiology, fecal occult blood, and other...

The menu of tests available at the point of care continues to expand. Many of these tests present unique opportunities to deploy point-of-care technologies in the home, outpatient, and hospital settings. The future will inevitably create new applications for POCT. The success of these efforts will be in part determined by how technologies for specific applications are selected and by the ability to manage new point-of-care tests as part of an organizational point-of-care program. The possibilities to improve patient care are obvious, provided adequate attention is paid to ensuring quality testing and to managing patient data from these novel technologies.