Evaluation of a training program for device operators in the Australian Government's Point of Care Testing in General Practice Trial: issues and implications for rural and remote practices.

Introduction: From September 2005 to February 2007 the Australian Government funded the Point of Care Testing (PoCT) in General Practice Trial, a multi-centre, cluster randomised controlled trial to determine the safety, clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and satisfaction of PoCT in General Practice. In total, 53 practices (23 control and 30 intervention) based in urban, rural or remote locations across three states (South Australia [SA], New South Wales [NSW] and Victoria [VIC]) participated in the Trial. Control practices had pathology testing performed by their local laboratory, while intervention practices conducted pathology testing by PoCT.

Comparative performance of two point-of-care analysers for lipid testing.

The aim of this study was to compare the analytical performance of the Cholestech LDX and CardioChek PA lipid point-of-care devices to a CDC-certified laboratory. Inter-assay imprecision (n=10) for blood samples from 2 patients with different lipid profiles was 3.0% for total cholesterol, 2.

The impact of point of care testing on diabetes services along Victoria's Mallee Track: results of a community-based diabetes risk assessment and management program.

Introduction: In the State of Victoria in Australia, diabetes is considered one of the top 10 health problems for people living in the rural Mallee Track region (which is centred on the town of Ouyen and extends west to the border with South Australia). A project entitled 'Diabetes Management Along the Mallee Track' was conducted through a Rural Chronic Disease Initiative (RCDI) program grant from the Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra, with the aim of improving the delivery of diabetes services in this region. The project's aims were achieved through the implementation of a community risk assessment program and the establishment of an integrated, multidisciplinary 'one-stop' service for the management of people with diabetes.