Global Point of Care
Make better, faster decisions in the moment.
From remote regions around the world to the clinic around the corner, when it comes to diagnosis and treatment, every moment counts.
improving access to healthcare with poct
Explore the map for real-life stories* of how POCT improves access to healthcare
* Some names and locations have been changed, to protect the privacy of individuals and institutions featured.
It’s been estimated that half the time, antibiotics are prescribed for symptoms caused by viruses, on which they have no effect.1
Battling superbugs with rapid diagnostics
Unnecessary prescriptions are producing antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Find out if access to point-of-care testing can change the picture.
It reads like a sci-fi horror story: a deadly new strain of microbe evolves, impervious to all medicines, and threatens to decimate the human race. Here’s the shocking twist: The danger is real. Worse yet, we humans have helped bring it on ourselves, mostly through rampant overuse of antibiotics.2
In response to the crisis, the World Health Organization has called on healthcare professionals to resist prescribing antibiotics unless they’re truly needed.3
That’s easier said than done. “Patients demand antibiotics for themselves or their children since that is what they are accustomed to and if they don’t get satisfaction from one doctor, they will go to one that will give them what they want,” writes Norman Moore, PhD, Abbott Director of Scientific Affairs, Infectious Diseases.4
But what if healthcare professionals could access diagnostic results in minutes, not hours or days, so they could tell patients whether an antibiotic prescription would make sense — in the moment, at the point of care?
Why the CRP rapid test? It was chosen because it’s reasonably inexpensive and easy to perform.
An international study put rapid diagnostics to the test.
Dr. Carles Llor is one of the leaders of the international Happy Audit study of antibiotic overuse. He supervised a phase of the study that took place in Spain. It focused on treatment of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and whether rapid, accurate diagnosis at the point of care can prevent over-prescription.5
Primary care physicians in the study performed a POCT C-reactive protein (CRP) and Strep A rapid test, using Afinion™ CRP and Clearview® Exact Strep A.
The CRP rapid test was chosen because it’s reasonably inexpensive and easy to perform. It requires less than a drop of blood, and results are available in about three minutes. Furthermore, an organized hospital lab isn’t needed. The test can be performed directly by clinicians or nursing staff.5
The moment of truth.
The study’s findings showed that 40% of antibiotic prescriptions being written for LRTIs were wrong.
They also indicated that unnecessary prescriptions can be greatly reduced when healthcare professionals have the opportunity to perform CRP tests in their offices. Antibiotic prescription was lower among the physicians using the CRP rapid test (44%) compared with those who did not use the test (62%).5
Study conclusion: We must encourage public administrations to embrace the use of CRP in primary care. Now that’s one prescription we can all live with.
View References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013. July 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/index.html
- The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: Final report and recommendations. 2016.
- World Health Organization. WHO’s first global report on antibiotic resistance reveals serious, worldwide threat to public health. April 30, 2014. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2014/amr-report/en/. Accessed on October 29, 2016.
- Moore, Norman. Don’t Take that Antibiotic. You Might Get... Fat? The Overuse of Antibiotics Meets the Science of Healthy Microbiomes. June 30, 2016. Available at: https://www.globalpointofcare.abbott/en/knowledge-insights/viewpoints/antibiotic-fat.html.
- Llor, Carlos, et al. Interventions to reduce antibiotic prescription for lower respiratory tract infections: Happy Audit study. December 19, 2011. http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/erj/40/2/436.full.pdf.
Featured in this Story:
Afinion™ CRP
Afinion™ CRP is a rapid, in vitro diagnostic test that helps reduce diagnostic uncertainty and guide antibiotic decision-making.
Raised cholesterol: an equal opportunity killer4
Raised cholesterol afflicts adults (over 190 mg/dl) afflicts adults (25+) across global regions, genders and income levels.4
High cholesterol: The road to early detection runs through Rio
Can a superior testing experience help healthcare professionals catch cardiovascular risk before it’s too late?
The World Health Organization estimates that raised cholesterol causes 2.6 million deaths worldwide each year.1 Early detection could help save lives and improve quality of life.2 But in many parts of the world, conventional labs are hard to get to, and tests can be expensive and time-consuming.2 That may be one reason tens of millions of cases of high cholesterol go undiagnosed.3
There are no signs or symptoms of high cholesterol.5 A simple blood test is the only way to know if you’re at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
Bringing the vanguard of POCT to Rio
Easy access to POCT could encourage more people to get their cholesterol checked. Abbott wanted to test that premise. And since high cholesterol is such a global problem, where better to find out than Brazil in Summer 2016 — when the world came to Rio?
The Abbott Van is a mobile diagnostics unit, customized for point of care testing (POCT). It can carry and perform more than 90 rapid tests, point of care systems and high tech solutions for rapid diagnosis. That testing speed can help healthcare professionals diagnose cardiovascular issues quickly and accurately. And the van’s mobility makes testing accessible in areas where conventional labs aren’t readily available.
The most impressive numbers of all came when patients rated their experience
99% overall satisfaction
95% of patients scored their experience a 5 (on a scale of 1 to 5)
86% said they prefer POCT over traditional lab testing
90% would switch to POCT6
Point-of-care testing goes mobile
The van came to Rio on an itinerant lipid profile testing campaign, seeking to encourage healthy habits and discourage symptoms negligence.
With the support from Society of Cardiology of Rio de Janeiro Estate (Socerj), the Abbott Van team aimed to establish a culture of prevention and early diagnosis.
In just four days, 6,618 biometric cardiovascular risk metrics were performed using Cholestech LDX® Analyzer.6
The first step in identifying cardiovascular risk is getting patients tested. But in situations where you can’t get them to come to the lab, take it from Rio — bring the lab to the patients.
Featured in this Story:
Cholestech LDX® Analyzer
The CLIA-waived Cholestech LDX® Analyzer provides results that are accurate, actionable and readily accessible. It sets the standard for point-of-care lipid profile, cholesterol and glucose testing.
View References
- World Health Organization. Raised cholesterol: Situation and trends. 2016. Available at: http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/cholesterol_text/en/. Accessed on October 29, 2016.
- World Health Organization (WHO). Preventing chronic diseases: a vital investment. WHO global report. (2005). http://www.who.int/chp/chronic_disease_report/contents/en/.
- Gregory A Roth et al. High total serum cholesterol, medication coverage and therapeutic control: an analysis of national health examination survey data from eight countries. Bull World Health Organ 2011;89:92–101.
- World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory data repository: Raised total cholesterol (≥5.0 mmol/L): Data by WHO region. 2008. Available at: http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.2570?lang=en. Accessed on <Month date>, 2016.
- CDC. High Cholesterol Signs and Symptoms. March 16, 2015. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/signs_symptoms.htm. Accessed on October 29, 2016.
- Alere Inc. internal data.
HIV in Indonesia: turning the tide with better healthcare access
When it comes to HIV, the single biggest risk is not knowing your status. In Bali, a leading HIV and AIDS expert decided to fight ignorance with free and easily accessible testing.
Delivering healthcare can be hard when you have to overcome a mountain range or a desert plain. It can be even tougher when the obstacle is fear. That’s what Dr. Steve Wignall, founder and medical advisor of the Bali Peduli Foundation, found himself confronted with.
People in Bali — especially young men between the ages of 20 and 30 — were getting sick and dying at an alarming rate. Dr. Wignall knew that antiretroviral therapy (ART) could prevent many deaths. But in order to initiate ART, it was first necessary to establish that an individual was HIV-positive, and then measure their CD4 count.
Therein lay the challenge. Many members of Bali’s gay community weren’t getting tested for fear they’d be stigmatized, and also due to concerns over cost and inconvenience. As a result, they didn't know their CD4 numbers until it was too late.
In just eight years, the incidence of reported HIV infections in Indonesia rose nearly 2000%.1
Better Health with ART
The longer people with HIV go untreated, the lower their CD4 count falls — and the greater their risk of serious illness.2
CD4 point of care testing offers an opportunity to identify CD4 counts early and can reduce the complexity of the process from HIV diagnosis to ART initiation. One study showed the total time to ART initiation was decreased from 44 to 21 days.3
Dr. Wignall didn’t just surmount the barriers. He eliminated them.
In response to the HIV epidemic, he and his foundation opened the Klinik Bali Medika.
To overcome young gay men’s fears of being ostracized by their fellow Indonesians, the clinic offered anonymous testing.
To take cost out of the equation, medical services were provided for free. It helped that the clinic’s key CD4 testing components, the Alere Pima™ Analyser and Alere Pima™ CD4 Test Cartridges, were donated by Abbott.
When it came to increasing convenience, the Alere Pima™ CD4 test proved invaluable. It enabled the clinic’s medical personnel to get CD4 results in 20 minutes. So instead of having to make multiple trips to the clinic, patients received their HIV and CD4 results in the same visit — and got the information and medicine they needed to start doing something about their infections — all within just one hour.
Thanks to improved access to testing, HIV-positive patients are getting diagnosed sooner, so they’re able to start treatment before they get sick.
Early results: shocking statistics — with a silver lining.
Dr. Wignall and his staff found that of the individuals they tested, over 11% had HIV. Even more dismaying: more than 50% had sexually transmitted diseases.4
Here’s the silver lining: Dr. Wignall’s patients left the clinic knowing exactly where they were in their infection, what they could do to fight it and how to avoid transmitting diseases to others.
Without the Klinik Bali Medika and the Pima™ CD4 test, they might not have learned of their infections until they were beyond help. According to Dr. Wignall, “the average CD4 count of a patient initiating anti-retroviral therapy in Indonesia is about 118. The average CD4 amongst our HIV-positive patients is about 320.”5
For millions of people worldwide, including the clients of a pioneering HIV clinic in Bali, getting results quickly is important.
Visit Bali Peduli, a not for profit testing center in Bali Indonesia that is delivering same day CD4 counts with the Pima™ CD4.
Featured in this Story:
Pima™ Analyser
The Pima™ CD4 test consists of the Pima™ Analyser and Pima™ CD4 Cartridge. The test makes it easy for healthcare professionals to perform CD4 T-cell analysis at the point of care, so they can provide their patients with one-stop, same-day, absolute CD4 counts in 20 minutes.
View References
- World Health Organization. HIV/AIDS and STI Control and Blood Safety. 2016. Available at: http://www.searo.who.int/indonesia/topics/hivaids/en/. Accessed on October 29, 2016.
- Carter, M., Hughson, G. CD4 cell counts. Published March 14, 2016. Available at: http://www.aidsmap.com/CD4-cell-counts/page/1044596/. Accessed on <Month date>, 2016.
- Patten GEM et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2013, 16:18518 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/18518
- Yayasan Bali Peduli. (2015). Bali Peduli Annual Report 2014. Available at: http://www.balipeduli.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Annual-Report-2014-Final-Copy-.pdf. Accessed on October 29, 2016.
- Interview with Dr. Steve Wignall.
