Point-of-care testing supports ED and central lab

ED point-of-care testing reduces waiting time in the ED at Chartres Hospital

Point-of-care testing reduces waiting time for patient care.

- Dr. Eric Revue, Head of the Emergency Department, Chartres Hospital, France

ED point-of-care-testing solution reduces waiting time for lab test results at Chartres Hospital

Chartres Hospital in Eure-et-Loir, France set up a partnership with their central lab implementing point-of-care testing to reduce waiting time for patient care in the emergency department, and focus on the most critically ill patients.

Their point-of-care testing solution from Radiometer helped to decrease the number of lab requests, while reducing waiting time for test results and patient care in the ED.

Emergency department at Chartres Hospital needed to accelerate patient flow

One of the biggest challenges at the Chartres Hospital emergency department were patients who visited the department with non-urgent medical reasons.

Dr. Eric Revue, emergency medicine physician, was looking for a way to give immediate attention to the most critically ill patients with point-of-care-testing.

According to Dr. Revue, this proved to be equally beneficial for the ED and the central lab. The lab now saves time with fewer lab requests and ED personnel can focus on ruling in or ruling out the real emergencies such as myocardial infarction, chest pain and pulmonary embolism at the point of care.

Reducing turn-around time at the point of care

The emergency department at Chartres Hospital in France uses point-of-care testing to reduce turn-around time in critical care situations.

Their Radiometer ED POCT solution delivers a comprehensive range of parameters and biomarkers to support ED physicians in making informed decisions quickly at the point of care.

ED physicians can test for 19 critical blood gas parameters, including creatinine and urea with the ABL90 FLEX PLUS blood gas analyser and 9 biomarkers with the AQT 90 FLEX immunoassay analyser.

Plus, blood gas syringes designed for homogenous samples and the Radiometer point-of-care IT system AQURE automate and simplify blood sampling and data capture from test order to reported results.

POC testing in the emergency department – a win-win for Chartres Hospital

Establishing a point-of-care protocol between the central lab and the ED at Chartres Hospital has resulted in fewer requests for the lab and a decrease in waiting time for patient care in the ED.

According to Dr. Revue, head physician for emergency medicine, point-of- care testing has revolutionised patient care at every level. He says, “I believe point-of-care testing is an integral part of care, and the organisation of emergency services today.”