POCT and licenses

Good Morning!

Periodic rounding is very helpful, especially in areas prone to doing testing on the side, like ED.  But I have also found that requesting a report from Supply Chain for who has ordered certain items (hemoccult cards, pH paper, urine dipsticks, etc) can also help you watch for a department ordering things they should not.  We have developed a good relationship with our buyers so that if they get a "lab" request from a non lab department, they contact us first to get approval.  It helps so much!

Mary

I sit on our hospital's Product Standards Committee. This committee has a form to be filled out by any department that is requesting a new product for patient care use. It is run by purchasing and distribution. If they get a request for something that has not gone through PSC the purchase does not go through. Anything that does have a PSC form filled out is brought to the committee meetings to be reviewed. We evaluate need, cost, SDS requirements ect. and suggest trials, approvals or denials of products.

It is not fullproof. Like Mary, I also have a great relationship with my purchasing and distribution teams. I have given them lists of "approved" sites/units for all of our current POC testing. If someone requests something that is on the list and they are not, distribution contacts me. Same with purchasing. They need a POC approval form from me before a purchase goes through. I am also on great standing with our BioMedical Engineering group. They catch things coming in the "backdoor" at times too. Your clinical nursing educators (if you have them) are a great at catching "new testing". If they are asked to train staff on something new that didn't come from me, they call me.

I have also reached out to all of our clinic leads and let them know if they are having vendors coming in to talk to them about POC testing, I should be there. No one has called me yet :( and I know vendors have been in, but it is out there.

I also do rounding. TJC tracers are great. I ask questions and have other staff keep their eyes and ears open too. My phlebotomists are everywhere!

Education is a big part of making sure testing is not happening "off license". It is important managers, MD's and VP's are aware of the implications of their actions or lack of action as it may be. My name is not on the CLIA license! I advise, not control their actions.

Happy tracking and hunting!

Michelle

Definitely, I agree about materials management/supply chain being very helpful to ping delivery of the POC goods. I can't rely on that for any clinic off a campus.

On the other hand, I noticed that it's more easy to do 'walk in visit' from vendors who are on campus, passed the vendor check-in process, then find their way into testing sites/clinics on campus. I don't hear uninvited, cold call vendor reps who up at non-campus clinics which is probably a reflection of locked doors into the back from the waiting room and no vendor rep is going to get past the front office/receptionist in a clinic without being escorted by back office staff (or me if it's POCT).

I lean towards nothing beats having the type of working relationship between the POCC and the staff performing and running the unit/clinic that pays off for both parties. When the testing site knows the POCC has their back on all things POCT, there seems to be far less of a 'sneak it in' mentality.