Point-of-Care Testing for SARS-CoV-2: A Prospective Study in a Primary Health Centre

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Medicine
• Infectious Disease Diagnostics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid changes in healthcare delivery, emphasizing strategies to minimize exposure risks.
• Point-of-care tests (POCT) became crucial for managing the pandemic, particularly in primary care settings.
• Evaluating POCT impact on surgical appointment maintenance and administrative efficiency was essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a POCT strategy on maintaining elective surgeries by reducing pre-appointment testing delays.
• To evaluate the effect of POCT on the time dedicated to end-to-end appointment management.
• To determine the feasibility and acceptance of ID NOW® POCT by patients and healthcare professionals for pre-surgical appointments.

Main Methods:

• Logistic regression identified factors associated with canceled or delayed surgeries and appointments.
• Multivariate linear regression analyzed changes in administrative task time.
• A questionnaire assessed patient and staff acceptance of POCT.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in canceled/delayed appointments or surgeries between usual care and POCT groups.
• POCT significantly reduced administrative time by 24.7 minutes (p < 0.001).
• High patient acceptance (96.6%) for future POCT, with reduced stress and travel time; providers found POCT improved workflow.

Conclusions:

• Nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT)-based SARS-CoV-2 POCT significantly enhanced flow management in primary care.
• POCT proved to be a feasible and highly accepted strategy among patients and healthcare providers.
• The study supports the integration of POCT into routine primary care for improved efficiency and patient experience.