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POC testing changes practice in rural hospitals

Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 | Rory | No Comments

Blattner K, Beazley CJ, Nixon G, Herd G, Wigglesworth J, Rogers-Koroheke MG. The impact of the introduction of a point-of-care haematology analyser in a New Zealand rural hospital with no onsite laboratory. Rural and Remote Health 2019; 19: 4934. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH4934 Open Access link

Mixed methods study from the team at Rawene in the Far North showing the, sometimes significant, impact of having a point-of-care FBC analyser in their small rural hospital. Knowledge is power and cost saving… Interesting that the largest cost saving is for the base hospital – something that seems like is missed in funding discussions.

Kati is a senior member of the rural section and convenes GENA 724 – The context of rural hospital medicine.

Abstract

Introduction:

Hokianga Hospital is a small rural hospital in the far north of New Zealand serving a predominantly Maori population of 6500. The hospital, an integral part of a comprehensive primary healthcare service, provides continuous acute in-hospital and emergency care. Point-of-care (POC) biochemistry has been available at the hospital since 2010 but there is no onsite laboratory. This study looked at the impact of introducing a POC haematology benchtop analyser at Hokianga Hospital.

Methods:

This was a mixed methods study conducted at Hokianga Hospital over 4 months in 2016. Quantitative and qualitative components and a cost–benefit analysis were combined using an integrative process. Part I: Doctors working at Hokianga Hospital completed a form before and after POC haematology testing, recording test indication, differential diagnosis, planned patient disposition and impact on patient treatment. Part II: Focus group interviews were conducted with Hokianga Hospital doctors, nurses and a cultural advisor. Part III: An analysis of cost versus tangible benefits was conducted.

Results:

Part I: A total of 97 POC haematology tests were included in the study. Of these, 97% were undertaken in the setting of the acute clinical presentation and 72% were performed out of hours. The average number of differential diagnoses reduced from 2.43 pre-test to 1.7 post-test, (χ2 tests p<0.05). There was a significant reduction in the number of patients transferred and an increase in the number of patients discharged home (χ2 tests p<0.05). Part II: Three main themes were identified: impact on patient management, challenges and the commitment to ‘make it work’. POC haematology had a positive impact on patient management and clinician confidence mainly by increasing diagnostic certainty. The main challenges related to the hidden costs of implementing the analyser and its associated quality assurance program in a remote-from-laboratory setting. Part III: Tangible cost–benefit analysis showed a clear cost saving to the health system as a whole.

Conclusions:

This is the first published study evaluating the impact of haematology POC testing on acute clinical care in a rural hospital with no onsite laboratory. Timely access to a full blood count POC improves clinical care and addresses inequity. There was an overall reduction in healthcare costs. The study highlighted the hidden costs of implementing POC systems and their associated quality assurance programs in a remote-from-laboratory context.

Most rural hospitals reliant on POC troponin

Wednesday, April 17th, 2019 | Rory | No Comments

Miller R, Stokes T, Nixon G. Point-of-care troponin use in New Zealand rural hospitals: a national survey. New Zealand Medical Journal. 2019;132(1493):13.

Not a great surprise: most rural hospitals do not have timely access to the same troponin assays that metropolitan hospitals rely on, instead reliant on less sensitive point-of-care troponin. A significant number of NSTEMI maybe missed using POC troponin at the manufacturer’s cut-off and we have an observational study underway evaluating a pathway that will limit these missed AMI.(1,2) This pathway has been shown to be effective in a pilot run in a low-risk primary care population.(3) There is also hope as discussed previously that a new high precision point-of-care assay will bring rural chest pain assessment in line with urban hospitals.(4)

“The results of this survey reinforce the importance of considering the context and resources of all New Zealand hospitals when making recommendations at a national level, such as the adoption of ADPs. Failure to do so can confuse clinical practice in our small rural hospitals that have access to fewer resources and risks exacerbating existing inequities.”

Abstract

AIMS: Accelerated diagnostic chest pain pathways (ADP) have become standard of care in urban emergency departments. It is, however, unknown how widely they are used in New Zealand’s rural hospitals because ADP require immediate access to contemporary or high-sensitivity troponin (hs-Tn). We aimed to determine for rural hospitals the troponin assay being used, if they were using an ADP and if they had access to on-site exercise tolerance testing (ETT).

METHODS: An online survey was sent to 27 rural hospitals providing acute care in New Zealand.

RESULTS: Most rural hospitals (23/27, 85%) responded to the survey. Most (17/23, 74%) used point-of- care cardiac troponin (POC-cTn) and the majority of these hospitals (15/17, 88%) were reliant on this assay 24-hours per day. All hospitals that had timely access to hs-Tn (8/23, 35%) used an ADP but only a minority (4/17, 24%) of hospitals using POC-cTn used an ADP. Only a minority of the larger rural hospitals (7/23, 30%) had access to on-site ETT.

CONCLUSIONS: Most New Zealand rural hospitals rely on POC-cTn to assess chest pain and are not using an ADP. There are limited data available to support this approach in rural settings especially with patients who are not low-risk.

References

1. Miller R, Nixon G. The assessment of acute chest pain in New Zealand rural hospitals utilising point-of-care troponin. Journal of Primary Health Care. 2018;10(1):90–2.

2. Schneider HG, Ablitt P, Taylor J. Improved sensitivity of point of care troponin I values using reporting to below the 99th percentile of normals. Clinical Biochemistry. 2013 Aug;46(12):979–82.

3. Norman T, Devlin G, Than M, George P, Young J, Egan G, et al. Measured Implementation of an Accelerated Chest Pain Diagnostic Pathway in Primary Care. Heart, Lung and Circulation. 2018 Jan;27:S4–5.

4. Pickering JW, Young JM, George PM, Watson AS, Aldous SJ, Troughton RW, et al. Validity of a Novel Point-of-Care Troponin Assay for Single-Test Rule-Out of Acute Myocardial Infarction. JAMA Cardiology. 2018 Oct;