From Lab to Bedside Testing: Uncovering Gateways and Roadblocks to Syndromic Multiplex Point-of-Care Testing for...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Infectious Diseases Diagnostics
• Point-of-Care Testing

Background:

• Canadian hospitals face significant healthcare management burdens.
• Infectious Diseases (ID) testing requires enhanced access and rapidity.
• Multiplex Point-of-Care Tests (POCTs) offer a potential solution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess facilitators and barriers to implementing multiplex ID POCTs in Canadian hospitals.
• To understand health leaders' perspectives on POCT adoption.
• To provide a framework for evaluating organizational transformation for POCT implementation.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 24 interviews with diverse health leaders across Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.
• Explored perspectives on current diagnostic methods, POCT experience, disease burden, health system integration, hospital management capacity, and efficiency impacts.
• Analyzed qualitative data to identify key themes relevant to sustainable POCT adoption.

Main Results:

• Four major themes emerged: current diagnostic methods and POCT experience, disease burden and health system integration, hospital management capacity, and anticipated impact on healthcare management efficiency.
• These themes are crucial for the sustainable adoption and implementation of multiplex POCTs for IDs.
• Health leaders' insights highlight the need for careful planning and organizational adaptation.

Conclusions:

• Multiplex ID POCTs have the potential to alleviate healthcare management burdens in Canadian hospitals.
• Successful implementation hinges on addressing identified facilitators and barriers.
• A structured evaluation approach is necessary for health leaders to plan organizational transformation for POCT adoption.