Academic Journal
Benchmarking Institutional Support for Point-of-Care Testing Programs: Scale, Staffing, and Operational Challenges.
| Τίτλος: | Benchmarking Institutional Support for Point-of-Care Testing Programs: Scale, Staffing, and Operational Challenges. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Yu M; Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States., Tran NK; Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States., Shaw JLV; Division of Biochemistry, The Ottawa Hospital and Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratories Association. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada., Larkey NE; Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States., Tolan NV; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University, St.Louis, MO, United States., Szczembara A; Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States., Donato LJ; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States., Maynard RD; Department of Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States., Khan AI; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States. |
| Πηγή: | The journal of applied laboratory medicine [J Appl Lab Med] 2026 Sep 03; Vol. 11 (5), pp. 1243-1254. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101693884 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 2576-9456 (Print) Linking ISSN: 24757241 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Appl Lab Med Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: 2020- : Oxford : Oxford University Press Original Publication: [Washington, DC] : American Association for Clinical Chemistry, [2016]-[2019] |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Point-of-Care Testing*/organization & administration , Point-of-Care Testing*/standards , Point-of-Care Testing*/statistics & numerical data , Point-of-Care Testing*/economics , Benchmarking* , Personnel Staffing and Scheduling*, Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Point-of-care testing (POCT) has expanded rapidly across healthcare systems, increasing both program scale and operational complexity. However, quantitative benchmarking data describing how POCT programs are structured and supported across institutions remain limited. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey to characterize POCT program support, including program scope, staffing, operational practices, governance, and challenges. The survey was distributed electronically through professional networks, and 93 institutional responses were analyzed. Descriptive analyses were performed, and derived metrics, including sites per point-of-care testing coordinator (POCC), were used to evaluate the relationship between program scale and staffing. Results: POCT programs demonstrated substantial variability in scale, with wide ranges in the number of testing sites and operator populations. Adoption spanned multiple test categories, and many institutions reported use of multiple platforms for the same assays. Training, competency assessment, and quality management activities were primarily supported by laboratory staff and POCCs, with documentation frequently partially electronic. Median POCC staffing increased with program size; however, sites per POCC also increased significantly across program scale tiers (Kruskal-Wallis P < 0.001). Governance structures and operational responsibilities varied across institutions, and common challenges included staffing limitations, training and compliance burden, multisite coordination, and IT/connectivity constraints. Conclusions: POCT programs are expanding in scale and complexity, but workforce capacity and governance structures have not scaled proportionally. This mismatch creates a cumulative and multiplicative operational burden. These findings provide benchmarking data to inform scalable staffing models, governance strategies, and infrastructure development for sustainable POCT program management. (© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine.) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260701 Date Completed: 20260903 Latest Revision: 20260903 |
| Update Code: | 20260904 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/jalm/jfag101 |
| PMID: | 42384409 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 2576-9456 |
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| DOI: | 10.1093/jalm/jfag101 |