Analytical performance specifications and quality assurance of point-of-care testing in primary healthcare

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is the fastest-growing segment of laboratory medicine. This review focuses on the essential aspects of setting analytical performance specifications (APS) and performing quality assurance for POCT in primary healthcare. In-vitro diagnostic medical devices for POCT are typically small and easy to operate. Users often have little to no laboratory experience and may not necessarily see the value of conducting quality assurance on their devices. Therefore, training, guidance, and motivation should be integral parts of the total quality management system, as they are vital for managing errors and ensuring reliable results. It is common to believe that the analytical quality of POCT should be comparable to that of laboratory testing, and as a result, APS should be the same. This paper challenges this concept. The APS for POCT can often be less stringent compared to those used in a central laboratory because the requester is closer to both the analytical and clinical situation. Point-of-care instruments should be selected based on clinical needs, the required analytical quality and user-friendliness in the intended usage setting.Quality assurance should include both internal quality control (IQC) and external quality assessment (EQA). It is recommended that IQC protocols should be dependent on the complexity of the POCT device. A scoring system to determine how frequent IQC should be analyzed in primary healthcare on different types of POCT devices has been suggested. The main challenge in EQA for POCT involves using suitable control materials that reflect instrument performance on patient samples. Obtaining commutable control materials for POCT is difficult since the matrix often is whole blood. An essential aspect of EQA for POCT is that feedback reports should be easily interpretable. Users should receive advice from the EQA organizer regarding the root causes of deviating results. Quality assurance for POCT is not an easy task and presents numerous challenges. However, there is evidence that quality assurance improves the quality of POCT measurements and, consequently, can enhance patient outcomes.