New, faster method of clinical lab testing

MANILA, Philippines - There is now a new means of clinical laboratory testing, performed right beside the patient’s bed, which is being employed to dramatically increase the chances of the patient’s survival, the top official of a health care solutions provider said.

Ralph Ante, president of HealthSolutions Enterprises Inc. (HSEI), said more and more hospitals are now using point-of-care-testing devices (POCTs) to cut the turnaround time of diagnostic tests from normally one hour to just five minutes.

“That’s a lot of time saved to save the patient’s life,” Ante said.

“The traditional method of clinical testing involves sending samples to the hospital’s central laboratory for analysis which takes more than one hour to finish. This tedious process is usually slowed down by the volume of samples to be analyzed, the filing in line in the laboratory, and transport issues.

“But physicians need the test results before administering a treatment, and so the patient has to wait while in pain, often for a very long time. With POCTs, diagnostic tests are done close to where the patient is, in his private room or at the emergency room, to provide timely, reliable, and accurate results for faster therapeutic interventions,” Ante said.

HSEI carries POCT devices that are small, light, portable and versatile, making them the choice of small to medium-sized hospitals, like the Spotchem EZ, Spotchem EL, and Aution Eleven from the world-renowned Arkray brand of Japan.

Spotchem EZ can measure the amount of albumin, calcium, and magnesium in the blood with just one sample strip. The machine’s automatic calibration feature ensures accuracy of each test.

Spotchem EL can measure electrolyte content (sodium, potassium, and chlorine) in the blood or urine in as little as 60 seconds. Automatic calibration enables accurate measurements of each sample.

On the other hand, Aution Eleven can perform up to 514 urinalyses per hour, making it one of the fastest POCTs in the market. It automatically starts when a strip is set on tray and measures 10 parameters simultaneously. Data from these POCTs can be stored in a private server for security and quick access.

Ante said HSEI bundles Electronic Medical Record (EMR), an application that digitizes patients’ medical records, making them easily accessible to physicians and patients through a private server.

Health care institutions that want to improve their patient management system through POCTs can call HSEI at (02) 836-5858.