POCTions Seminar 2016

Together with the Singapore Association for the Medical Laboratory Sciences, Transmedic organised POCTions on 15 October 2016. "POCTions" is a conflation of the terms POCT and “solutions” -- named as such because experienced speakers were invited to share their solutions and experiences for challenges arising from Point of Care.

Over 100 lab technicians and clinicians from Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam spent a full Saturday with us at this inaugural event.

Mr. Geoffrey Herd, Point of Care Testing Coordinator at Northland District Health Board, New Zealand, talked to us about how POCT is governed in New Zealand. It was an informative session as POCT in New Zealand is a firmly established area of medical care, with well-developed POCT regulations and standards. Mr. Herd was able to draw on his wealth of experience to give tips on how hospitals should select their POC devices, and perform quality assurance and control.

We also had the pleasure of learning from Mr. Wayne Fok from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, about the importance of IT connectivity for POC devices -- in particular the i-STAT system which he has been working with for years. The i-STAT is a choice instrument for many healthcare professionals in Southeast Asia, and when integrated into the IT network of a hospital can generate great efficiency. It can eliminate the need for manual reporting, and automatically file patient records for easy retrieval in the future. In a short hour Mr. Fok was able to shed some light on an otherwise impenetrable topic.

Finally, Dr. Leslie Lam, the head of Laboratory Medicine in Jurong Health and a Senior consultant at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Medical Centre, Singapore, gave an engaging speech on how to manage a successful POCT programme. According to Dr. Leslie, it is key for all stakeholders to convene and communicate their needs regularly.

Based on positive feedback from attendees, POCTions will return again in 2018 with brand new speakers and topics. We hope to see you all there!

Published on 20 Mar 2017

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