EQA for POCT – Opportunities for quality, challenges for implementation

ABSTRACT - introduction The use of point-of-care testing (POCT) is increasing in settings where the staff is not necessarily familiar with procedures that are routine for laboratory professionals. This raises the questions of responsibility of training, instructions for use, quality control etc. The POCT results are intended for immediate use and they have a direct effect on the patient care. To ensure that the test is performed correctly and that the tests give reliable results, both internal quality control (IQC) and external quality assessment (EQA) should be a part of the POCT routine. Detailed instructions for sampling processing and analysis are of great importance for POCT units