Economic evaluation of point-of-care testing in the remote primary health care setting of Australia's Northern Territory.

Aim: To determine the cost-effectiveness of utilizing point-of-care testing (POCT) on the Abbott i-STAT device as a support tool to aid decisions regarding the emergency medical retrievals of patients at remote health centers in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia.

Methods: A decision analytic simulation model-based economic evaluation was conducted using data from patients presenting with three common acute conditions (chest pain, chronic renal failure due to missed dialysis session(s), and acute diarrhea) at six remote NT health centers from July to December 2015. The specific outcomes measured in this study were the number of unnecessary emergency medical retrieval prevented through POCT.

Point-of-care testing for haemoglobin A1c in remote Australian Indigenous communities improves timeliness of diabetes care.

Introduction: In remote Australia timely access to pathology results and subsequent follow-up of patients for treatment is very challenging due to the long distances to the nearest laboratory. Point-of-care testing (POCT) offers a practical solution for pathology service provision in such remote communities. Since 2008, POCT for haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) has been conducted in remote Northern Territory (NT) health centres for diabetes management of Indigenous patients through the national Quality Assurance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Medical Services (QAAMS) Program.