The probable connection between patient safety and point-of-care testing appears at
the intersection of technical limitations, rapid availability, and the therapeutic
implications of this genre of tests [
[1]
]. In the absence of a systematic evidence base, a series of definitions may be used
to approach the topic. (These include definitions of patient safety, medical error,
and preventable adverse event, as well as definitions of point-of-care testing itself
and point-of-care test operator; and the stipulations of three regulatory categories:
waived testing, provider–performed microscopy testing, and moderate complexity testing.)
The eight definitions collide with actual point-of-care testing practice to reveal
latent conditions that predispose point-of-care test systems to active medical errors
[
2
,
3
,
4
]. These latent conditions appear with special prominence among tests in the regulatory
category of waived point-of-care testing [
[5]
]. The medical consequences of these limitations require more attention, both to detect
point-of-care testing errors and to prevent the adverse events that flow from them
[
6
,
7
,
8
,
9
,
10
].To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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