Point-of-care testing (POCT)
In modern medicine, every minute often counts. Imagine you come to the emergency room with chest pain and the doctors have to find out quickly whether it’s a heart attack. Or you have diabetes and need to check your blood sugar regularly without going to the lab every time. This is exactly where point-of-care testing, or POCT for short, comes into play.
What is POCT?
Point-of-care testing means “testing at the point of treatment”. Unlike traditional laboratory tests, where samples such as blood or urine are sent to a laboratory and analyzed there, with POCT everything happens directly on site – be it in the doctor’s surgery, hospital, pharmacy or even at home. The devices are often small, handy and deliver results in just a few minutes. Examples include blood glucose meters, pregnancy tests or tests that determine heart markers such as troponin in emergency medicine in order to rule out or confirm a heart attack.
The principle is simple: a sample is taken – a drop of blood from the fingertip, for example – placed in a device and shortly afterwards the result appears on a display. No waiting for laboratory reports, no long transportation routes. This makes POCT particularly practical and fast.
Why is POCT so important?
The importance of POCT lies in its speed and flexibility. In emergency medicine, it can save lives if doctors know immediately whether a patient is having a heart attack or whether a stroke is imminent. In the case of infections such as sepsis, rapid tests for inflammation levels or pathogens can also speed up treatment. In Germany, where healthcare is good throughout the country but large laboratories are not always close by, this is a huge advantage – especially in rural areas or smaller clinics.
For the chronically ill, such as people with diabetes, POCT has long been part of everyday life. They can measure their blood sugar themselves and adjust their insulin accordingly without having to visit a doctor all the time. This gives them more freedom and control over their illness. POCT is also becoming increasingly important in GP practices: a quick test for CRP (an inflammatory value) can show whether a cold needs to be treated with antibiotics or not – this saves time and prevents unnecessary medication.
POCT in laboratory medicine: a supplement, not a replacement
You might think that POCT makes large laboratories superfluous. But that’s not true. In Germany, laboratory medicine is highly developed, with precise devices and comprehensive analyses that often provide more details than POCT. While a POCT device quickly shows a single result, laboratories can examine dozens of parameters simultaneously – for example in a blood test that covers liver, kidney and thyroid values. POCT is therefore more of a supplement: it provides immediate answers when things need to be done quickly, while the laboratory remains responsible for more complex or long-term diagnoses.
Nevertheless, POCT is changing laboratory medicine. Hospitals are increasingly relying on so-called POCT systems, which are managed centrally but can be used decentrally – for example in intensive care units or operating theatres. This saves time and resources. At the same time, the requirements are increasing: The devices must be reliable, the results must comply with laboratory standards and staff must be trained to use them correctly.
Opportunities and challenges
POCT brings many advantages, but also challenges. The rapid tests are ideal for patient care on site and can even reduce costs because fewer samples need to be transported. In times of pandemics, POCT has shown how valuable it is: rapid tests for corona have helped to detect and contain infections at an early stage. POCT is also becoming more important in telemedicine – patients can test at home and send the results digitally to their doctor.
But there is a catch: the quality of the tests must be right. Cheap devices or improper handling can give false results, which can be dangerous. There are therefore strict rules in Germany – POCT falls under the guidelines of the German Medical Association and must be checked regularly. Furthermore, not all tests are as accurate as laboratory analyses, and POCT is often not sufficient for rare diseases. Another point is data protection: if results are transmitted digitally, they must be securely protected against misuse.
A look into the future
POCT has become an integral part of medicine, and its use is growing steadily in Germany. New technologies are making the devices ever smaller, more precise and more versatile. Some can already measure several values at the same time, such as blood sugar and blood lipids. Experts see great potential: POCT could improve care in rural regions and save even more lives in emergency medicine. At the same time, laboratories and manufacturers are working on better dovetailing POCT and conventional analyses – for medicine that is fast, accurate and available to everyone.
In short: POCT is a game changer. It brings diagnostics directly to the patient, makes medicine more flexible and faster – and complements laboratory medicine where it is needed most. In Germany, it is an important building block for modern, patient-oriented healthcare.
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Gender note. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple references and gendered designations are avoided in favor of better readability.
