Point-of-care testing brings faster diagnosis directly to patients worldwide

Hospitals and clinics around the world have been adopting point-of-care testing, a method that gives doctors diagnostic results within minutes rather than waiting hours for a laboratory.

Unlike traditional lab testing, which requires samples to travel to a central facility, these portable devices work directly beside the patient, whether in an emergency room, an ambulance, or even at home. Staff with only basic training can operate them.

The benefits have been measurable. At UC Davis Medical Center, a rapid Covid-19 test cut diagnosis waiting times by more than eleven hours. In patients with a serious blood infection called sepsis, bedside testing for a substance called lactate has been linked to a 19 percent drop in deaths.