Point of Care Testing

Division of Point-of-Care Testing

Point-of-Care Testing (POCT), also known as bedside or near-patient testing is performed throughout London Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph’s Health Care and their affiliated institutions.

Point of Care has the overall responsibility for certification, maintenance and quality assurance of the POCT devices. All new devices must be approved by the POC Committee and validated prior to patient use.

The Point-of-Care-Testing menu includes:

Urinalysis in our Emergency Departments, Women’s Health Care Clinics, OB Triage and Pediatric Medical Day Unit with over 130 certified users across the city. These tests help screen patients during clinic visits, and assist with access and flow for Emergency patients.
Blood Glucoses are performed at 7 sites with direct interfaced results to the electronic patient’s chart (EPR) by over 5000 users including the main hospital sites, Mental Health and Dialysis patients.
Blood Gases are performed in our ORs and Critical Care/Intensive Care Units with over 400 users; Physicians, Anesthesiologists, Perfusionists, Respiratory Therapists, Nurses with results posting to the EPR.
Hemoglobin A1C testing is performed in our Pediatric Medical Day Unit for the pediatric diabetic patients and their continued care.
Activated Clotting Times (ACT) are performed in our Cardiovascular ORs, Cardiac Care Units and Cardiac Catheterization Suites at both UH and VH. This testing is used as a valuable indicator for clotting times during cardiac surgery (pre and post), bypass cardiac surgery as well as during cardiac catheterization procedures.
POC also supports the Transport team providing a small laboratory device, the i-STAT, which performs immediate near-patient laboratory testing while in ambulance or helicopter transit.