Designing a point-of-care program for coagulation testing.

The prothrombin time and the activated partial thromboplastin time are routinely used to diagnose hemostatic disorders and to monitor anticoagulation therapy. Several coagulation test systems are now available that perform whole blood prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time assays at the point of patient care. Many hospitals are evaluating point-of-care programs to satisfy the clinical demand for more expedient return of laboratory results. A successful point-of-care program requires the cooperation of laboratorians to assess validity of the methodology and clinicians to evaluate the clinical merit of the system. In this paper, the criteria for choosing a valid and appropriate point-of-care coagulation system are discussed and guidelines for implementing a coagulation point-of-care program are suggested.